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Class 

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62 2d°Sn SS } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES {^"SET 



COOPERATION 

AND COST OF LIVING IN 

CERTAIN FOREIGN 

COUNTRIES 



MESSAGE OF THE 
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRANSMITTING 

DATA ON COOPERATION AND 
THE COST OF LIVING IN CER- 
TAIN FOREIGN COUNTRIES 



OTR 



March 13, 1912.— Ordered to be printed 



WASHINGTON 
1912 



2 



62 d Congress \ 
2d Session J 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



f Document 
\ No. 617 



COOPERATION 

AND COST OF LIVING IN 

CERTAIN FOREIGN 

COUNTRIES ^ 



MESSAGE OF THE 
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRANSMITTING 

DATA ON COOPERATION AND 
THE COST OF LIVING IN CER- 
TAIN FOREIGN COUNTRIES 



sm 



March 13, 1912.— Ordered to be printed 



WASHINGTON 
1912 






v- 






V 








5F ft 

2 »12 






MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT. 



To the Senate and House of Representatives : 

I transmit herewith a letter from the Acting Secretary of State 
with accompanying data on cooperation and the cost of living in 
certain foreign countries. 

The popular demand for information of this character apparently 
was based on the belief that some remedy or partial relief might 
be found for the growing burdens of the high cost of living. The 
immediate result of the inquiries instituted by the Department of 
State through the consular officers was to accentuate the fact that 
the increase in the prices of the common necessities of life is world- 
wide, a^nd that it is an absorbing question with the cooperative asso- 
ciations as well as with the mass of consumers as individuals. Multi- 
plied evidences of the universal restlessness under this condition are 
given. Intelligence gathered and presented by the cooperative so- 
cieties shows that even where there has been an advance in wages 
the percentage has not kept pace with the rise in the cost of food 
supplies. This disproportion in many cases is so marked as to be 
startling. 

The information collected and collated by the Department of State 
is comprehensive, and is a permanent contribution to the history of 
the efforts of producers and consumers, but more especially of con- 
sumers, to solve for themselves the economic problems of production, 
distribution, and consumption. If the cooperative associations which 
have been in existence for half a century and more have not been 
able to determine the fundamental causes of the increased cost of 
living or to retard the advance, the student of social progress at least 
may derive instruction from the account of the associations and their 
influence on the well-being of their members. 

How far the system of cooperative organization which flourishes 
in various European countries may be adapted to our highly organ- 
ized and individualistic social organizations may perhaps only be 
determined by experiment, and in any case the experiment must be 
of a voluntary character. The practical information contained in 
the reports of the consular officers undoubtedly will be of much value 
to those who are seeking to work out this problem for themselves 
by means of similar associations. 

In my message of February 2 I recommended an international 
commission to look into the cause for the high prices of the necessi- 
ties of life and the possible remedies. Should such a commission be 
authorized by Congress the relation of the cooperative societies to 
this subject would be of great interest, and the reports of the consular 
officers would have additional utility. 

Wm. H. Taft. 

The White House, March 13, 1912. 

3 



Inclosures, 

1. Letter of the Acting Secretary of State. 

2. Analysis of reports of consular officers in the United Kingdom. 

3. List of consular officers reporting. 

Consul General John L. Griffiths, London, England. 

Consul Horace Lee Washington, Liverpool, England. 

Consul Church Howe, Manchester, England. 

Consul Hunter Sharp, Belfast, Ireland. 

Consul J. N. McCunn, Glasgow, Scotland. 

Consul Albert Halstead, Birmingham, England. 

Consul Samuel M. Taylor, Nottingham, England. 

Consul Albert W. Swalm, Southampton, England. 

Vice and Deputy Consul A. D. Piatt, Dublin, Ireland. 

Consul E. H. Dennison, Dundee, Scotland. 

Consul Augustus E. Ingram, Bradford, England. 

Consul Rufus Fleming, Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Vice and Deputy Consul R. K. Evans, Sheffield, England. 

Consul H. D. Van Sant, Dunfermline, Scotland. 

Consul F. I. Bright, Huddersfield, England. 

Vice and Deputy Consul R. C. Tredwell, Burslem, England. 

Consul H. W. Metcalf, Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. 

Consul C. L. Livingston, Swansea, Wales. 

Consul Walter C. Hamm, Hull, England. 

Consul George E. Chamberlin, Cork, Ireland. 

Consul Lorin A. Lathrop, Cardiff, Wales. 

Consul Benjamin F. Chase, Leeds, England. 

Consul Joseph G. Stephens, Plymouth, England. 

Consul Homer M. Byington, Bristol, England. 

Consular Agent C. K. Eddowes, Derby, England. 

Consular Agent S. S. Partridge, Leicester, England. 



.. ,„-: 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



The President: 

The facilities of the Department of State, by your direction, have 
been employed for some months past in gathering and collating in- 
formation concerning cooperative societies and the cost of living in 
certain foreign countries. 

The department instituted through the consular officers a compre- 
hensive inquiry into cooperative societies in several European 
countries in their relation as between producers and consumers. 
They were instructed to prepare a concise summary of the inception 
and growth of the different cooperative societies in their districts, 
the methods of organization and operation, the intermediate means 
employed for the distribution and delivery of domestic supplies, 
and the degree to which such societies reduce the cost of the com- 
mon necessaries of life to the consumer. The attitude toward non- 
cooperative stores and the attitude of independent retailers and 
wholesalers toward the cooperative societies were also included in 
the sphere of the inquiry. The aim of the department in calling 
for these reports, the consular officers were informed, was to obtain 
information which would be useful as a basis of practical sugges- 
tions for communities in the United States, allowing for difference 
in environment, in industrial and social conditions, and in the scale 
of living. 

While the consular officers were making their investigations into 
the general subject their attention was drawn in many cases to the 
facts given members by the cooperative societies concerning the ad- 
vance in prices of the most necessary articles of food. They also 
availed themselves of authoritative data from other sources. The 
reports on this aspect of the inquiry, being of much current interest, 
were made public by the department through the medium . of the 
Daily Consular and Trade Reports from time to time as received. 
They were uniform in showing that the members of the cooperative 
associations were feeling the higher cost of supplying their daily 
wants, and thus were evidence of the universal increase in the cost 
of staple commodities. This detailed information already having 
been published, it is not considered necessary to transmit it in full. 
A few examples may be given. 

The consul general at London forwarded a table prepaid by the 
cooperative wholesale societies exhibiting the increased cost of certain 
articles in the United Kingdom since 1898. This showed that in 
the intervening period bacon and hams had risen from a fraction 
under 9 cents to a fraction above 16 cents per pound; butter, 22.7 
to 25.7 cents; cheese, 10.5 to 13 cents; lard, 6.5 to 13.6 cents; sugar, 
3 to 4.6 cents. Flour represented a decrease from 2.78 to 2.46 cents 
per pound. From a summary of rates of wages in certain trades 
with the board of trade index number representing the amount in 

5 



6 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 

London retail food prices it was developed that the per cent of 
increase from 1896 to 1910 in wages was 11.1 and in food prices 19.5. 
The wages of railway employees had increased only 7.3 per cent. 

The consul at Southampton reported that during the past five years 
there has been an advance of 20 per cent in the purchase price of fresh 
beef, mutton, bacon, hams, butter, eggs, fruits, tea, dried fruits, sugar, 
coffee, fuel, tin goods, women's apparel, footwear, clothing, cotton 
goods, bedding, furniture, and underwear. 

The consul at Hull reported from figures taken from the returns of 
the publications of cooperative wholesale societies or from informa- 
tion obtained by personal inquiry that while there has been a mod- 
erate advance in the rate of wages, there has been a much greater 
advance in the cost of living. 

A series of figures relating to general groceries compiled by the 
Cooperative Wholesale Society of Manchester gave an instructive 
example of what the rise in the cost of provisions meant to an ordi- 
nary family. It appeared from this compilation that in 1898 a pound 
of bacon and ham cost 9.92 cents and in 1910 16.38 cents ; 2 pounds of 
butter, 45.4 cents in 1898 and 51.48 cents in 1910 ; one-half pound lard, 
3.24 cents in 1898 and 6.9 cents in 1910 ; 4 pounds of sugar, 11.92 cents 
in 1898 and 16.24 cents in 1910. Flour and tea showed a decrease, 12 
pounds of flour having cost in 1898, 33.36 cents and in 1910, 29.52 
cents. One-half pound tea cost in 1898, 16.16 cents and in 1910, 15.44 
cents. Coal, another necessity, had also jumped from $2.41 per ton 
at pit mouth in 1898 to $3.22 in 1910. Taking the table as a whole, 
it appeared that, as compared with 1898, the increased cost of living 
in 1910 was 13.36 per cent. 

Another table compiled from the Fourteenth Abstract of Labor 
Statistics of the United Kingdom, issued by the board of trade, 
showed that in 15 years potatoes were the only commodity in which 
there was a decrease in the price of the articles enumerated. 

The consul general at Paris reported that the increased cost of the 
ordinary foodstuffs in northern France had become the most generally 
absorbing topic of public interest. 

The consul at Havre reported food prices in November, 1900, and 
the same in November, 1911. From these were shown increases as 
follows: Beef, from 23 to 39 cents; lamb, 30 to 49 cents; veal, 31 to 
48 cents ; pork, 25 to 40 cents ; chickens, 25 to 35 cents ; potatoes, 1 to 
2.5 cents; eggs, 40 to 58 cents; butter, 30 to 44 cents; milk, 4.5 to 6 
cents ; rice, 8 to 10 cents ; flour, 7 to 8 cents ; bread, 3 to 4 cents ; tea, 
75 cents to $1; soft coal, $10 to $12 per ton; anthracite, $12.50 to 
$13.50. Sugar showed a decrease from 12 to 10 cents. The meats 
quoted were for the second French quality, prime meats costing from 
one-half to two-thirds more than these quotations. 

The consul at Lyon transmitted a table prepared by Commission 
of the Workingman's Exchange giving average prices of various food 
commodities in 1900 and in 1911, respectively. Fish was the only 
food commodity that had not soared in price. 

The consul general at Berlin reported that living conditions were 
seriously affected by the continued rise in the price of food products, 
many of the commodities having advanced far above all previous 
records. The average retail prices prevailing in 51 of the principal 
cities of Germany during the first half of the month of September, 
1911, were, per pound, as follows: Beef, 18.4 cents; veal, 20.1 cents; 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 7 

mutton, 19.9 cents; fresh pork, 16 cents; ham in slices, 37.1 cents; 
whole ham, 27.2 cents ; bacon, 18.5 cents ; horse meat, 8.4 cents. Vege- 
tables, fruit, butter, milk, eggs, flour, and poultry had also risen con- 
siderably in 1911 as compared with 1910 and previous years. 

The consul at Amsterdam reported that the lowest prices of food- 
stuffs in Holland in recent years were reached in 1896, and that 
since then prices have steadily mounted. An official agricultural re- 
port covering important articles such as beef, pork, eggs, butter, ham, 
wheat, and beet sugar showed that the increase had ranged from 16 
to 55 per cent in the 12 years following 1898. In the case of pork the 
increase was 41 per cent; eggs, 55 per cent; butter, 28 per cent; ham, 
33 per cent ; wheat, 16 per cent ; beet sugar, 25 per cent. These prod- 
ucts had also increased in 1911 as compared with 1910, and vegetables 
also were higher. 

Reports from the consular officers in other countries showed similar 
advances, thus confirming the universal increase in the price of living. 

Reverting to the general subject matter of the reports, much inter- 
est attaches to the cooperative associations in the United Kingdom 
because England may be said to be the nursery of these societies, A 
very careful analytical summary of the reports of the consular officers 
in the United Kingdom has been prepared in the department so that 
the general interrelation of the societies and their methods may be 
seen in their entirety. In this manner it is possible to take a general 
survey of the various forms of cooperation among the people of the 
British Isles. 

The consular officers describe the inception and growth of the 
cooperative societies, both distributive and productive, some of which 
date back to the beginning of the nineteenth century or earlier. It 
develops that the majority of so-called cooperative productive enter- 
prises are factories owned by distributive societies and have been 
initiated from time to time as the respective organizations reached a 
stage where they could advantageously undertake such endeavors. 

The collective growth of cooperative societies in the United King- 
dom, as a whole, is shown by statistical summary. In 1862 there were 
400 societies with a membership slightly in excess of 90,000. The 
value of the sales was £2,333,000 and the net profits £165,000. In 
1908 the number of societies was slight! v in excess of 3,000, with a 
membership of 2,701,000. The value of sales was £113,090,000 and 
the net profits were £10,997,000. 

The Cooperative Wholesale Society for England, Wales, and Ire- 
land, which was opened in 1864 with a capital of £2,400, had in 1910 a 
capital of £1,741,000, and net -sales amounting to £26,000,000. The 
Wholesale Society for Scotland, which was organized in 1869 with 
a capital of less than £3,000, in 1910 had a capital of £427,000 and net 
sales amounting to £7,738,000. It is noted that the increased regis- 
tration of cooperative societies, which has been marked during recent 
years, is probably due to the impetus given to the organization of 
cooperative agricultural societies through the parent Agricultural 
Organization Society. 

There were in England and Wales in 1910, 411 distinctively agri- 
cultural societies. Some of these were for the supply and sale of 
produce, some were egg and poultry collecting depots, some were 
agricultural credit, some dairy, some fruit-grading societies, and some 
for miscellaneous purposes. 



8 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 

The cooperative agricultural societies were aided by the Agricul- 
tural Organization Society in negotiations with railway companies, 
government departments, and business houses. They are organized 
in much the same manner as distributive societies. A number of the 
associations sell at reduced rates and issue no dividends. Supplies 
of all kinds are purchased jointly at wholesale. Farm produce is 
graded and distributed through means of depots maintained in neigh- 
boring towns or through selling agents. Markets are visited by 
agents, who inform the members as to the quality and price of prod- 
uce. In Scotland there are 72 such organizations. An Irish agri- 
cultural organization society recently has been active, but no data as 
to its results are yet at hand. 

The cooperative union located at Manchester has contributed greatly 
to the formation and growth of cooperative societies generally. The 
general objects of the union are the diffusion of information in regard 
to the movement and the assistance of individual societies. It main- 
tains committees on education, joint propaganda, legislation, ex- 
hibitions, trade-unionism, credit training, and legal defense. 

In addition to the societies affiliated with the cooperative union 
there are many cooperative organizations registered under the in- 
dustrial and provident societies act. 

The development of cooperation generally in the United Kingdom 
is continuing at a fair rate, although not so rapidly as in the earlier 
years. The growth thus far has been confined quite distinctly to the 
wage-laboring classes. A study of the movement by localities shows 
that cooperation has flourished mainly in the industrial and manu- 
facturing districts. 

An instructive illustration of the growth of individual societies 
other than agricultural, and the manner in which the activities of 
such an organization have expanded, is found in the account given 
of a society located at Leeds, which was founded in 1847 for the pri- 
mary purpose of securing cheaper flour. 

British cooperation is affiliated with the International Cooperative 
Alliance, which comprises the leading cooperative organizations in 
the continental countries and holds international congresses trien- 
nially. 

Opposition on the part of noncooperative tradesmen is now de- 
cidedly less intense than in the earlier stages of the movement, the 
consular officers report. Yet a widespread antagonism still exists 
against cooperation among British shopkeepers and criticism is con- 
stant and searching. An illustration of this attitude is the statement 
contained in the report of the consul at Hull, where the claim is made 
by opposing interests that cooperative trading can not compete with 
legitimate retail trading. In support of this contention figures are 
given of grocers' prices and of cooperative society prices of various 
food products, in which the grocers' figures are lower than those of 
the cooperative societies. 

It should be noted in reference to criticism of this character that 
the cooperative societies do not undertake to sell at lower than cur- 
rent prices, their aim being to give the purchaser the benefit claimed 
for cooperative purchases by returning it in the form of a dividend. 
In the average society these dividends are substantial and the esti- 
mate is made that for the United Kingdom as a whole they would 
average not far from 9 per cent of the purchase price paid by the 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 9 

cooperative purchasers. The critics of the cooperative movement 
allege that these dividends are obtained by sacrificing the purity and 
excellence of the merchandise furnished or by an actual raising of 
prices to compensate for the amount of the dividends. 

In discussing the relation of cooperation and the cost of living, the 
majority of the consular reports seem to infer that the dividends paid 
back to purchasing members do measure roughly a real reduction in 
the price of the commodities bought. 

The attitude of cooperative toward noncooperative stores is gener- 
ally reported to be that of indifference. Purchases are made from 
private sources almost as freely as from affiliated cooperative organi- 
zations, the prices and quality being the determining factors. 

The reports of the consular officers in several of the continental 
countries of Europe will be submitted at an early date. 

Eespect fully submitted. 

Huntington Wilson, 

Acting Secretary of State, 

Department or State, 

Washington, March 4, 1912. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



ANALYSIS OF REPORTS OF CONSULAR OFFICERS ON COOPER- 
ATIVE SOCIETIES AND SIMILAR ASSOCIATIONS IN THE UNITED 
KINGDOM. 

[Compiled by the Bureau of Trade Relations, Department of State,] 
I. INCEPTION AND GROWTH. 

A considerable number of cooperative societies in the United 
Kingdom, both distributive and productive, date back to the begin- 
ning of the nineteenth century or even earlier. The Fenwick 
Weavers Society in Scotland was founded in 1769, while a coopera- 
tive tailors' shop was set up in Birmingham in 1777, and a coop- 
erative village store at Mongewell, in Oxfordshire, in 1794. In 
broad terms, however, the cooperative movement, in the form that 
has given it success, may be said to have arisen since the founding 
of the Rochdale Pioneer Society, which opened its store in a flannel- 
weaving town 12 miles from Manchester on December 21, 1844. 

Very many of the distributive societies which are now largest and 
most prosperous were formed during the fifties and early sixties of 
the last century, although the dates of organization of all existing 
societies, large and small, are fairly evenly distributed throughout 
the past 60 years. In Ireland the early attempts did not succeed, 
and few of the Irish organizations have existed over 20 years. In 
Scotland the situation is rather the reverse. 

It is not possible to make a separate general statement as to the 
dates of inception of distinctively productive cooperative societies. 
The great majority of so-called cooperative productive enterprises 
are simply factories owned by distributive societies and have been 
initiated from time to time as the respective societies attained a stage 
where they could advantageously undertake such endeavors. The 
following table shows the number of cooperative societies registered 
during each year, beginning with 1862 for England and Wales. 1872 
for Scotland, and 1874 for Ireland : 



Year. 


England 

and 
Wales. 


Scot- 
land. 


Ireland. 


United 
King- 
dom. 


Year. 


England 

and 
Wales. 


Scot- 
land. 


Ireland. 


United 
King- 
dom. 


1862 


454 

51 

146 

101 

163 

137 

190 

65 

67 

56 

113 

186 

113 

98 

72 

58 

48 

40 

53 

50 

51 

42 

64 

73 






454 

51 

146 

101 

163 

137 

190 

65 

67 

56 

141 

226 

130 

117 

82 

67 

52 

52 

69 

66 

67 

55 

78 

84 


1886 


67 

73 

94 

81 

103 

88 

106 

92 

96 

68 

88 

68 

71 

75 

54 

99 

134 

120 

146 

111 

126 

112 

249 


15 

11 
5 
8 
7 
7 

12 
6 
5 

10 
4 
5 
2 
9 
9 
8 
9 
9 
8 

10 
9 

11 

15 


1 

3 

1 

4 

12 

22 

9 

8 

12 

45 

36 

53 

109 

68 

54 

46 

110 

96 

48 

54 

31 

42 

36 


83 


1863 






1887 


87 


1864 






1888 


100 


1865 






1889 


93 


1866 '. 






1890 


122 


1867 






1891 


117 


1868 






1892 


127 


1869 






1893 


106 


1870 






1894.. 


113 


1871 






1895.. 


123 


1872 


25 
39 
15 
18 
10 
8 
4 
11 
14 
12 
15 
13 
12 
11 


2 
1 

1 

1 
2 

4 

1 

2 


1896 


128 


1873 


1897 


126 


1874 


1898 


182 


1875 


1899 


152 


1876 


1900 


117 


1877 


1901 


153 


1878 


1902 


253 


1879 


1903 


225 


1880 


1904 


202 


1881 


1905 


175 


1882 


1906 


166 


1883 


1907 


165 


1884 


1908 


300 


1885 











11 



12 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



The increased registrations during recent years are probably due 
to the impetus given to the organization of cooperative agricultural 
societies by the formation of the Agricultural Organization Society 
in 1901. No tabulated statement can be made as to the number of 
societies ceasing to exist in each of the years named. In recent years 
anywhere from one-fourth to one-half as many societies have been 
discontinued as have been instituted ; but a good proportion of these 
discontinuations have been brought about by amalgamation rather 
than by failure. Complete statistics to bring the foregoing table 
down to date can not be secured, but it may be stated that while the 
year 1909 showed a decided decline in registration the year 1910 sur- 
passed the 1908 record. 

The following statement shows the number of agricultural cooper- 
: ative societies formed by the Agricultural Organization Society 
beginning with 1901 : 



1901. 
1902. 
1903. 
1904. 



25 
41 
72 

98 



1905. 
1906. 
1907. 



123 
137 

167 



It is believed that these figures are cumulative. Numerous agri- 
cultural cooperative societies have been formed or enlarged inde- 
pendently of the above-mentioned organization society. The in- 
creases since 1907 have been such that in December, 1911, the Agri- 
cultural Organization Society stated that the number of societies 
affiliated with it was 463. 

The collective growth of cooperative societies in England and 
Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom as a whole, is 
presented in the following tables stating the number of members, 
sales value, and net profit of the societies for which reports were 
issued at five-year intervals for a series of years : 



Year. 



1862 


ENGLAND 


AND WALES. 


68 


1865 


182 


1870 


153 


1875 


237 


1880 


62 


1885 


47 


1890 


149 


1895 


69 


1900 


91 


1905 


33 


1906 


26 


1907 


33 


1908 


42 


1872 


SCOTLAND. 


38 


1875 


46 


1880 


38 


1885 




1890 


2 


1895 


1 


1900 


7 


1905 


3 


1906 




1907 


1 




1 



Societies. 



Not re- 
porting. 



Report- 
ing. 



332 

403 

748 

926 

953 

1,114 

1,290 

1,530 

1,656 

1,937 

1,979 

2,016 

2,053 



178 
237 
224 
317 
341 
365 
350 
357 
362 
365 
372 



Members. 



90,341 

124, 659 

248, 108 

420,024 

526, 686 

717,019 

955,393 

1,191,766 

1,547,772 

1,944,427 

2,017,980 

2, 127, 774 

2,209,497 



38,829 
59,260 
76,855 
132,597 
183,387 
231,866 
313, 686 
389, 989 
400,206 
410,597 
419,573 



Value of 
sales. 



£2,333,523 
3,373,847 
8,201,685 
16,206,570 
20,129,217 
25,858,065 
35, 367, 102 
44,003,888 
62,923,437 
74,555,412 
78, 015, 639 
85,050,249 
86, 869, 663 



1,595,120 

2,277,812 

3, 102, 460 

5,415,091 

8,300,261 

10,754,512 

17,200,882 

21,556,712 

22,175,551 

23,822,956 

23,796,179 



Amount of 
net profit. 



£165,562 
279,226 
553, 435 
1,250,570 
1,600,000 
2, 419, 615 
3,393,991 
4,194,876 
6,208,116 
7,323,093 
7, 652, 244 
8,422,277 
8,208,370 



126,314 

176, 795 

266,839 

566,540 

879,019 

1,187,986 

1,955,274 

2,472,527 

2,596,974 

2,787,291 

2,740,913 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



13 



Year. 



1875 


IRELAND. 


2 


1880 




1885 


3 


1890 


8 


1895 


43 


1900 


258 


1905 


213 


1906 


213 


1907 




253 


1908 




113 


1862 


UNITED KINGDOM. 


68 


1865 


182 


1870 


153 


1875 


285 


1880 


100 


1885 


50 


1890 


159 


1895 


113 


1900 


356 


1905 


249 


1906 


239 


1907 


287 


1908 


156 



Societies. 



Not re- 
porting. 



Report- 
ing. 



7 

6 

10 

16 

71 

168 

451 

482 

465 

433 



332 
403 
748 
1,170 
1,183 
1,441 
1,647 
1,966 
2,174 
2,745 
2,823 
2,846 
2,858 



Members. 



792 

522 

1,043 

1,793 

6,708 

24. 794 
67,938 

75. 795 
76, 950 
72, 053 



90,341 

124,659 

248, 108 

480,076 

604, 063 

850, 659 

1,140,573 

1,430,340 

1,886,252 

2,402,354 

2,493,981 

2,615,321 

2, 701, 123 



Value of 
sales. 



£15,519 

16,Q37 

32, 754 

64,306 

341,849 

896, 109 

1,890,441 

2,216,930 

2,366,298 

2, 424, 495 



2,333,523 

3,373,847 

8,201,685 

18, 499, 901 

23,248,314 

31,305,910 

43,731,669 

55,100,249 

81,020,428 

98,002,565 

102, 408, 120 

111,239,503 

113,090,337 



Amount of 
net profit. 



£1,725 

1,760 

2,535 

2,607 

6,209 

14,432 

36,827 

44,566 

37,735 

47,486 



165,562 

279,226 

553, 435 

1,429,090 

1,868,599 

2, 988, 690 

4,275,617 

5,389,071 

8,177,822 

9, 832, 447 

10, 293, 784 

11,247,303 

10, 996, 769 



These statistics are based on the annual returns by societies to the 
registrar of friendly societies and corrected by the more recent re- 
turns to the Cooperative Union. They relate, apparently, to all 
classes of cooperative organizations, whether affiliated with the Co- 
operative Union or not, and whether productive, distributive, agri- 
cultural, or of othe> character, including cooperative wholesale 
societies. In regard to England and Wales the relatively larger 
proportion of nonreporting societies in the earlier period should be 
taken into account in gauging the rate of increase in number of mem- 
bers, sales : and profits. With respect to Ireland it should be stated 
that the nonreporting societies have probably been small and unim- 
portant. Large numbers of unsuccessful Irish societies have had 
their registrations canceled in recent years. 

The Cooperative Wholesale Society for England, Wales, and Ire- 
land, enrolled August 11, 1863, and opened March 14, 1864, was 
organized because retail cooperative societies were finding difficulty 
in securing stocks from private wholesalers owing to the jealousy of 
private traders in general. The Scottish Cooperative Wholesale 
Society, originating for like reasons, was enrolled April 20, 1868, 
and opened on September 8, 1868. The following statistics show the 
growth of the share capital, sales, and profits of these two wholesale 
societies for the years stated . 



14 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 
Society for England, etc. 



Year. 



Capital 
shares. 



Net sales. 



Increase 
over 

previous 
year's 
sales. 



Net profit. 



Average 
dividend 

per 
pound 
sterling. 



1864^ 
1865.. 
1866.. 
1867» 
1868.. 
1869.. 
1870 3 
1871.. 
1872.. 
1873.. 
1874.. 
1875.. 
1876 3 
1877.. 
1878.. 
1879* 
1880.. 
1881.. 
1882.. 
1883.. 
1884 3 
1885.. 
1886.. 
1887.. 
1888.. 
1889 3 
1890.. 
1891.. 
1892.. 
1893.. 
1894.. 
1895 3 
1896.. 
1897.. 
1898.. 
1899.. 
1900.. 
19013 
1902.. 
1903.. 
1904.. 
1905.. 
1906.. 
1907 3 
1908.. 
1909.. 
1910.. 



£2,455 

7,182 

10,968 

11,276 

14,888 

16,556 

19,015 

24,410 

31,352 

48,126 

60, 930 

78,249 

94,590 

103,091 

117,657 

130, 615 

146,061 

156,052 

171,940 

186, 692 

207,080 

234, 112 

270,679 

300,953 

318,583 

342,218 

434,017 

473,956 

523,512 

570, 149 

598,496 

635,541 

682,656 

728, 749 

775, 536 

821,224 

883, 791 

948,944 

1,006,894 

1,043,031 

1,196,703 

1,307,341 

1,388,338 

1,476,021 

1,570,732 

1,657,305 

1,740,619 



Per cent. 



£51,857 




120, 754 




175,489 


45J 


331,744 


51| 


412,240 


43 


507,217 


23 


677, 734 


30J 


758,764 


121 


1, 153, 132 


51| 


1,636,950 


«i 


1,964,829 


20 


2,247,395 


14| 


2,697,366 


m 


2,827,052 


n 


2, 705, 625 


54| 


2,645,331 


1 


3,339,681 


22f 


3,574,095 


7 


4,038,238 


121 


4,546,889 


12* 


4, 675, 371 


i 


4, 793, 151 


4% 


5,223,179 


H 


5,713,235 


9f 


6,200,074 


8* 


7,028,944 


Hi 


7,429,073 


7f 


8,766,430 


18 


9,300,904 


6 


9,526,167 


2| 


9,443,938 


6 I 


10,141,917 


5i 


11,115,056 


Hf 


11,920,143 


n 


12,574,748 


5| 


14,212,375 


13 


16,043,889 


12-1 


17,642,082 


H 


18,397,559 


5| 


19,333,142 


5 


19,809,196 


21 


20,785,469 


4 


22,518,035 


8i 


24,786,568 


9 I 


24,902,842 


l| 


25,675,938 


3 


26,567,833 


3i 



£267 

1,858 

2,310 

4,411 

4,862 

4,248 

7,626 

7,867 

11,116 

14,233 

20,684 

26,750 

36,979 

29,189 

34,959 

42,764 

42,090 

46,850 

49,658 

47,885 

54,491 

77,630 

83,328 

65,141 

82,490 

101,984 

126,979 

135,008 

98,532 

84,156 

126,192 

192, 766 

177,419 

135,561 

231,256 

286, 250 

289, 141 

288, 321 

336,369 

297,304 

332, 374 

304,568 

410, 680 

488, 571 

371,497 

549,080 

« 480, 000 



410,931,640 



6,643,694 



Pence. 



? 

3 

2| 
H 
2i 
2* 
2* 
2 
2 
2? 
2* 
2 

2* 
2| 
2| 
2f 
2| 
2| 
2i 
31 
3* 
2J 
2i 
3i 
3* 
3i 
2* 
2* 
21 
3i 
3* 
2} 
3* 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 



1 30 weeks. 



2 65 weeks. 



3 53 weeks. 



4 50 weeks. 



5 Decrease. 



6 Estimated. 



It will be noted that while the rate of increase in sales has not 
been quite so large of recent years the growth is still well sustained, 
and the dividend of 8 cents on $4.8665 has been standardized. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 
Society for Scotlcmd. 



15 



Period. 



Capital 
shares. 



Net sales. 



Increase 
over pre- 
vious 
period's 
sales. 



Net profit. 



Average 

dividend 

per 

pound 

sterling. 



1869 and 1870. 
1871 to 1875.. 
1876 to 1880.. 
1881 to 1885.. 
1886 to 1890.. 
1891 to 1895.. 
1896 to 1900.. 
1901 to 1905.. 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1906 to 1910... 



Total. 



£2,668 

11,765 

19, 159 

34, 257 

84, 454 

169, 906 

254, 076 

352, 731 

375, 198 

390, 277 

404, 013 

411,010 

426, 857 



£196, 

1,649, 

3, 122, 

6, 078, 

10,380, 

15,574, 

23,398, 

31,896, 

7,140, 

7,603, 

7,531, 

7,457, 

7,738, 

37, 470, 



041 
795 
660 
941 
405 
412 
586 
361 
183 
460 
126 
136 
158 
063 



Per cent. 



89.2 

94.6 

70.7 

50.0 

50.2 

36.3 

2.8 

6.4 

.9 

1.0 

3.8 

17.5 



£3,771 

32, 798 

68,404 

144,643 

289,518 

495,061 

932, 868 

1,230,292 

280, 435 

289, 198 

263,577 

271,927 

1 274, 185 

1,379,322 



Pence. 



4 

H 

4g 

5* 
63 

? 

8 
8 
8 
8 



133,521,378 



4, 709, 845 



1 Estimated. 



The rate of increase in sales is thus seen to be diminishing grad- 
ually. The higher dividend in the case of Scotland probably means 
merely that slightly higher prices are charged in the first place to 
purchasing societies. 

A few of the significant developments in the history of the Eng- 
lish Cooperative Wholesale Society are as follows: 



Event. 




Day. 



Manchester boot and shoe department commenced 

Bank department commenced 

Drapery (dry goods) department established 

Insurance fund established 

London branch opened 

Soap works commenced 

New York depot established 

First steamship purchased 

Furnishing department commenced 

Rouen depot established 

Copenhagen depot opened 

London tea and coffee department commenced 

Hamburg depot commenced 

Longton crockery depot opened 

Manufacture of cocoa and chocolate commenced . . . 

Leeds clothing factory commenced 

Broughton cabinet factory opened 

Printing department opened 

" Wheatsheaf " Record, first publication 

Flannel mill acquired 

Corset factory commenced 

Herning slagteri purchased 

Roden convalescent home opened 

Tralee bacon factory commenced 

Leicester hosiery factory taken over 

Marden fruit farm purchased 



1872 
1872 
1873 
1873 
1874 
1874 
1876 
1876 
1876 
1879 
1881 
1882 
1884 
1886 
1887 
1890 
1893 
1895 
1896 
1898 
1898 
1900 
1901 
1901 
1903 
1904 



July 1 
Oct. 14 
June 2 
Aug. 16 
Mar. 9 
Oct. 5 
Feb. 21 
May 24 
July 16 
Mar. 24 
June 6 
Nov. 1 
Apr. 7 
Aug. 25 
Nov. 2 
June 10 
May 8 
Jan. 23 
July 1 
Apr. 1 
Oct. 20 
Jan. 19 
July 27 
Sept. 3 
July 1 
Feb. 20 



16 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



The subjoined statistics show the present condition of all societies 
in the United Kingdom connected with the cooperative union : 



Character. 


Year. 


Number. 


Members. 


Shares. 


Trade. 


Profits. 


Wholesale 


1909 
1910 
1909 
1910 
1909 
1910 
1909 
1910 
1909 
1910 


2 

2 

1,430 

1,428 

119 

117 

4 

4 

6 

6 


1,439 

1,4$4 

2,469,039 

2,542,532 

31,806 

32,660 

81,755 

83,906 

1,254 

1,267 


£2,068,243 

2, 167, 476 

30.804, 246 

31,614,559 

858,039 

884,027 

378, 792 

377, 143 

26,644 

28,870 

i 


£33,133,074 

34,305,991 

70,375,078 

71,861,383 

3,142,047 

3,183,289 

2,104,618 

2,051,017 

157, 447 

181,099 


£922,756 


Retail 


843,583 
10,847,945 


Productive 


10,938,331 
184, 159 


Supply 


189,632 
52,006 


Special 


48,530 

4,257 




5,740 


Total 


1909 
1910 


1,558 
1,555 


2,585,293 
2, 661, 799 


34,135,964 
35,072,075 


108,912,264 
111,582,779 


12,011,123 




12,024,816 



These figures do not, however, represent the entire cooperative 
movement in the United Kingdom, since many cooperative organiza- 
tions are registered under the industrial and provident societies act 
of 1893 which are not affiliated with the cooperative union. The 
report of the chief registrar of Friendly Societies for 1908, published 
in 1910, makes the following statement in regard to all societies 
registered under the above-named act: 





Societies. 


Members. 


Funds. 


Industries and trades 


2,243 
450 
137 
123 


2,535,615 

120,457 

17,807 

5,926 


£55,488,082 
1, 065, 739 


Businesses 


Land societies 


1,837,504 
11,019 


Small holdings and allotments 






Total 


2,953 


2,679,805 


58,402,344 





Of the 2,243 " industries and trades " societies 243 were productive, 
887 distributive, and 1,080 were both productive and distributive. 
Other societies included banks and financial associations, working- 
men's clubs, Conservative clubs, tenants' housing societies, labor 
copartnership associations, etc. 

The following statement shows the position of productive coopera- 
tive societies affiliated with the cooperative union, and of the produc- 
tive branches of the two wholesale societies. Figures are not avail- 
able to show the position of the productive branches of the retail 
distributive societies connected with the union, but the total products 
of such branches in 1910 are estimated at about 8,000,000 pounds 
sterling in value, which sum may be added to the £12,199,912 stated 
below to give the total value of the production of the cooperative 
movement proper during 1910 as £20,199,912. ■ 





Year. 


Socie- 
ties. 


Em- 
ployees. 


Capital. 


Trade. 


Profit. 


Loss. 


England and Wales 


1909 
1910 
1909 
1910 
1909 
1910 
1909 
1910 


102 

100 

.17 

17 

1 

1 

1 

1 


6,384 
6,431 
2,070 
2,152 
14,806 
15,241 
5,248 
5,373 


£969,887 
977,522 
559, 148 
585, 039 
2,421,958 
2, 677, 638 
784,700 
806,976 


£2,287,817 
2,313,316 
854,230 
869,973 
6, 206, 156 
6,581,310 
2,366,715 
2,435,313 


£91,106 
91,551 
93, 053 
98, 081 

201,310 

148,349 
59, 745 

105,217 


£2,554 

4,100 

61 


,<?eotianfl 






English wholesale 


3,500 


Scottish wholesale 


12,164 
103 










Total 


1909 
1910 


121 
119 


28, 508 
29, 197 


4,735,693 
5,047,175 


11,714,918 
12,199,912 


445, 214 
443,198 


6,218 
16,264 





COOPERATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 



17 



The report of the chief registrar states that 1,290 societies, includ- 
ing distributive, wholesale, and productive societies, carried produc- 
tion to the extent of £20,469,065 calculated on wholesale prices and 
employed 48,738 persons — 27,611 men, 13,786 women, and 7,341 per- 
sons under 18 years of age. The wages paid to these workpeople, 
exclusive of bonuses, amounted to £2,633,419. 

Statistics as to production by separate industries can only be 
given for the same classes of productive enterprises as covered by 
the table immediately above, viz, purely productive cooperative so- 
cieties affiliated with the cooperative union and productive depart- 
ments of the two wholesale societies. The values of the products of 
these societies have been as follows: 





1909 


1910 




1909 


1910 


Cotton, linen, silk, and 
wool: 


£439,925 
112,605 
663,753 


£498,817 
122, 125 
731,672 


Printing and bookbinding: 
England 


£140,437 

17, 174 

215,009 


£148,664 


Scotland 


16,640 


Scotland 


Wholesale societies . . . 
Total 


247,382 


Wholesale societies. . . 




372,620 


412 6Sfi 




1,216,283 


1,343,614 


Corn (grain) milling: 
England 






1,106,768 
3,893,986 






345,218 
807,254 


371,661 
818, 666 


1,019,399 


Boots, shoes, and leather: 


Wholesale societies . . . 
Total 


3,975,677 


England 


5,000,754 




Wholesale societies . . . 


4,995,076 


Baking: 

England 


Total 


1, 152, 472 


1,190,327 


26,294 
712,283 


28,984 
717,652 








47,431 
48,009 


57, 752 
47,332 


Total 


Metal and hardware: 


738,577 


746,636 


England 


Laundries: 


Wholesale society 


10,370 
12, 168 


18, 481 
13,556 


Total 


94, 440 


105,084 


Scotland 




Total 






34,506 
118,818 


35,334 
117,599 


22,538 


32, 037 


Woodworking: 

England 


Various: 

England 


85,221 
2,826,042 




Wholesale societies. . . 


97,094 


Wholesale societies. . . 
Total 


3,078,295 




153,324 


152, 933 




Total 


2,911,263 






3,175,389 


Building and quarrying: 
England 


51,647 


46, 130 


Grand total 




11,714,918 


12,199,912 







Many of the distributive societies carry on farming to some degree- 
The acreage thus worked in 1910 was 10,938, the profits £5,371 and 
the losses £4,238, the operations being by 89 different societies, 
largely in the midland and northern sections of England. There are 
also two farming societies, with an acreage of 808, not included in the 
foregoing statement. 

34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 2 



18 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



The present status of the distinctively agricultural societies, both 
affiliated with the Agricultural Organization Society and independ- 
ent, is shown in the following statement for 1909 and 1910. This 
statement relates only to societies in England and Wales : 



Description. 



Societies. 



1909 1910 



Trade. 



1909 



1910 



Societies for the supply of requirements and sale of produce . 

Agricultural Cooperative Federation 

Egg and poultry collecting depots, registered 

Dairy societies 

Agricultural credit societies 

Central Cooperative Agricultural Bank 

Small holdings and allotments societies J 

Auction markets 

Fruit-grading societies 

Rural industrial societies 

Motor-service societies 

Farming societies 

Milling societies 

Agricultural & General Cooperative Insurance Society 

Scottish Agricultural Organization Society (propagandist) . . 
Cattle-improvement societies 



143 

1 

15 

14 

31 

1 

146 

5 

1 

1 

1 

5 

1 

1 

1 



151 

1 

23 

18 

40 

1 

165 

3 

1 

1 

1 

2 

1 

1 

1 

1 



£1,513,000 

86,000 

1,300 

5,800 
90,000 



14,200 



£1,763,000 

94,000 

1,500 

7,400 
93,000 

16,000 



Total. 



367 



411 



1, 710, 300 



1, 974, 900 



The Scottish Agricultural Organization Society was formed in 
1905, at which time there was but one other cooperative agricultural 
society in Scotland. Since that time 72 such societies have been 
instituted, as follows: Eighteen for the sale of poultry products, 18 
for purchase of supplies combined with sale of poultry products. 
13 for the purchase of farm supplies, 9 for collective purchase and 
sale of farm products generally, 7 for the sale of dairy products and 
utilization of surplus milk, and others for various allied purposes. 
The trade turnover of the 50 societies reporting to the Scottish Agri- 
cultural Organization Society in 1910 was £199,768. The newest 
societies can scarcely be said to have firmly established their existence 
as yet. An Irish Agricultural Organization Society has recently 
been active, and its operations may be studied in the report from 
Dublin. 

The Cooperative Union, located at Manchester, has contributed 
greatly to the formation and growth of cooperative societies, through 
methods indicated elsewhere. With it has been connected the Irish 
Cooperative Conference Association. Other influences upon the 
origin and growth of cooperative societies will be mentioned under 
subsequent headings. 

The development of cooperation in the United Kingdom is shown 
by the foregoing tables to be still continuing at a fair rate, although 
naturally not so rapidly as in the years soon after its success had 
been demonstrated. This growth has thus far been confined quite 
distinctly to the wage-laboring and similar classes. A summary of 
the movement by sections shows that half of the trade done by cooper- 
ative societies is in the " northwestern " section, while Scotland and 
the " northern " section account for an additional third of the sales. 
Thus it appears that cooperation has flourished mainly in the indus- 
trial and manufacturing towns of the United Kingdom. 

The cooperative societies in the north of England are so numerous and so 
prosperous as to take the place almost entirely of the departmental stores as 
existing elsewhere. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 19 

The following resume of the groAvth of a typical thriving city 
society will give a general idea of the manner in which the activities 
of such organizations have expanded. This society, located at Leeds, 
was founded in 1847 for the purpose of securing cheaper flour, and 
a mill was rented. For the first five years it could sell only to mem- 
bers, and held to the policy of selling at cost. After the act of 1852 
it was able to sell to the outside public, and adopted the plan of pay- 
ing 5 per cent dividend on capital invested. It also permitted women 
to become members. In 1856 the sale of groceries was authorized, but 
the experiment failed and was abandoned in 1857. In 1858 the system 
of selling groceries and provisions by employees of the society was 
commenced. In 1859 an award of 2 shillings in the pound (49 cents in 
$4.8665) was made to purchasers. Dealing in meats, boots and shoes, 
dry goods, and clothes Avas commenced at about this time; and a 
series of lectures was given. A bonus to employees for securing new 
members was tried and discarded. In 1867 nonmember purchasers 
were given half the dividend allowed to members. Coal dealing 
was added. In 1869 the storekeepers of the 16 branches, instead of 
buying separately, all commenced to trade generally with the Whole- 
sale Cooperative Society, at Manchester. In 1872 a building depart- 
ment was inaugurated. In 1873 production was taken up in the addi- 
tional forms of the making of boots and shoes, clothing, and furni- 
ture. An annual holiday for employees was established in 1878. 
The society commenced making annual grants to certain charities, 
urged the sale of the Cooperative News, and arranged for the with- 
drawal of members who did not trade sufficiently with the coopera- 
tive stores. In 1880 a news room and library were instituted. In 
1884 a coal wharf was bought, and boats for handling coal and grain 
were procured. A woman's guild was started in 1889, by which 
classes for dressmaking, cooking, etc., were provided. In 1892 a 
farm of 74 acres was purchased near the city. Several houses were 
erected or begun in 1893 on land acquired for the purpose. 

Thus the society kept on growing, extending its interests and investments 
from year to year, until now it is engaged in or interested in almost all lines of 
distribution, as also in several lines of productive employment and educational 
development. 

(The tabular statements under the heading, " Inception and 
growth," are from the 1911 annual of the Cooperative Wholesale 
Societies (Ltd.), and from the report of the Forty-third Annual Co- 
operative Congress, Bradford, 1911. Both documents accompany 
the report of Consul Albert W. Swalm, of Southampton, England. 
Eecent and elaborate statistics in regard to cooperation in the United 
Kingdom may be found in the Report on Industrial and Agricultural 
Cooperative Societies in the United Kingdom, published by the Brit- 
ish Board of Trade (Labor Department) in February, 1912, for- 
warded by Consul General J. L. Griffiths, of London.) 

II. ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION. 

All varieties of cooperative societies in the United Kingdom are 
organized under the provisions of the industrial and provident so- 
cieties act of 1893 (56 and 57 Vict., c. 39), in which have been con- 
solidated previous laws on the subject. The most important of these 
preceding laws was the industrial and provident societies act of 



20 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

1862 (25 and 26 Vict., c. 87), which was enacted to regulate the coop- 
erative movement Avhen the latter was still in its formative period. 
Other noteworthy prior legislation dated from 1855, 1871, and 1876. 

To benefit from registration under the act of 1893 a society must 
send to the registrar of friendly societies (in London, Edinburgh, 
or Dublin, according to location) an application signed by at least 
seven members, together with two printed copies of its rules. Its 
name must terminate with the word " Limited." It must supply 
to the registrar annually before March 31 a duly audited statement 
of its transactions during the preceding calendar year. If it carries 
on banking it must make out semiannually in February and August 
of each year a return in prescribed form. By virtue of its registry 
each society becomes a body corporate with limited liability and 
with most of the usual corporation powers of entering into contracts, 
holding and transferring realty, suing and being sued in its own 
name, etc. 

Membership in a society may be secured by any person 16 years 
of age or over who engages to take one or more shares of the capital 
stock, such shares to be paid for either in cash or (after a small 
payment to bind the contract) by sMght weekly installments or by 
accruing interest or dividends. In some instances, after a portion 
of each share has been paid for by stoppage of interest and dividends, 
the shareholder or member is permitted to draw part of such interest 
and dividends as may accrue thereafter. These exceptions favor- 
able terms of acquiring stock and membership enable and encourage 
subscriptions on the part of persons even in the humblest circum- 
stances. The shares are usually valued at £1 ($4.8665) each, and 
among the larger societies it is customary to require a minimum 
purchase of from tAvo to five shares. 

The maximum of shares which may be held by a single member 
is fixed by the industrial and provident societies act at £200 ($973.30). 
In some instances a husband and wife can not both hold shares in 
the same society; but minor children over 16 years of age may sub- 
scribe to stock in a society to which one of their parents belongs. 
Shares may be taken and held jointly by two or more persons. 
Companies or societies desiring to become members are ordinarily 
required to take out a larger number of shares than private per- 
sons, as, for example, 20 shares. The liability of each member is 
limited to the shares of capital stock which he holds. The shares 
may be either transferable or withdrawable, but transferable shares 
may not be withdrawable. If any of the share capital of a society 
is withdrawable the society may not engage in banking business, 
although it may receive deposits. Shares may be bequeathed, by 
registering the name of a legatee on the books of the society, up to 
the value of £100 ($486.65) . When a shareholder wishes to withdraw, 
the society buys back his shares at the value paid, often stipulating 
its right to delay such repurchase a given number of days or weeks 
in case of need, according to the amount of the withdrawal. Shares 
usually bear interest at 5 per cent, but in most societies only a limited 
number can be held at this rate, and all shares in axcess of this num- 
ber draw lower interest. The rate of interest is also sometimes con- 
tingent to a specified extent upon the proportion which the value 
of a member's purchases bears to the value of the shares he holds. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 21 

In the management of the society each member is entitled to one 
vote, irrespective of the number of shares held, and voting by proxy 
is not permitted. General meetings of all the members are held at 
stated periods, as quarterly or semiannually ; and these assemblies not 
only elect all officers but also pass upon important proposals of any 
character and ratify or reject plans calling for financial responsi- 
bilities beyond specified amounts. 

The officers elected may be either men or women, and comprise ordi- 
narily a president, secretary, auditor, treasurer or bankers, and addi- 
tional directors or committeemen. The number of directors varies 
from 7 to 15 or even more, and the bare expenses incidental to their 
sessions are paid by the societies, or they are paid " a very nominal 
fee." It is customary for a portion of the members of the boards of 
directors to be retired each quarter or each six months in such a man- 
ner that members with experience will always constitute a majority. 
The directors select the active managers of the societies' affairs and 
exercise a general direction and supervision over these affairs. Usu- 
ally subcommittees deal with the details as to different departments 
of the societies' business, and when there are branch shops local ad- 
visory committees are frequently chosen. In order to qualify as an 
officer a member must have traded with the society to a specified 
amount during the period immediately preceding his election. No 
person dealing in articles such as a society handles may be an officer 
in it. Employees may not be near relatives of any officers. They are 
paid at the rates of wages generally current for similar employment. 

In most societies an educational committee is elected by the general 
meeting, independent of the board of directors. 

The books of a society are open to the inspection of any member, 
and usually of nonmembers. Balance sheets are publicly displayed 
at least one week before each general meeting. 

The operation of the average society may be judged somewhat from 
its declared purposes or objects. A typical long-established society 
(Derby) states its objects as follows: 

1. To supply pure unadulterated wholesome goods at fair market prices. 

2. To provide suitable investments for small savings. 

3. To divide the profits equally among the members according to purchases. 

4. To improve the conditions of labor. 

5. To promote the social, intellectual, and material advancement of its members. 

The distinctive feature of the operation of general supply or dis- 
tributive cooperative societies is the division among buyers, in the 
form of so-called dividends, of the net surplus remaining to the socie- 
ties after all obligations have been met and all special funds provided 
for. Even purchasers who are not members of the societies partici- 
pate in these dividends or premiums, although not on equal terms. 
These dividends are distributed in proportion to the amounts pur- 
chased by each patron. They represent the profits which in ordinary 
trade go to retailers or middlemen. By receiving them back from the 
cooperative stores buyers save or eliminate many of the expenses 
usually attendant upon the economic process of distribution. The 
size or amount of this rebated surplus varies in accordance with the 
ability and success of the managements of the different societies, 
ranging in well-established organizations from 5 to 15 per cent of the 
price paid by the recipients for the goods purchased. Nonmember pur- 



22 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

chasers receive one-half or two-thirds as large dividends as members. 
In order that members who do not patronize the stores of the societies 
may not receive rebates at an advantage over nonmembers who do, a 
notification is issued to members whose purchases with the societies' 
stores have been falling below a settled minimum, and if the condition 
continues such members are requested to withdraw. 

Upon entering a society each member is given a numbered pass 
book which is to be presented at the time purchases are made. Un- 
der the " Climax " system of checking purchases each customer is 
given a ticket bearing the amount of his purchase and the number 
of his pass book on each occasion when he trades at the society's 
stores. The stores retain duplicates of these tickets and are thus 
able to check up the claim of the purchaser for dividends when he 
presents his tickets at the end of each quarter or half year as evidence 
of his right to dividends. 

The original principles of the cooperative movement called for 
strictly cash payments in every department; but this demand has 
been relaxed. At present 79 per cent of the general distributive 
societies give credit to their members, usually up to three-fourths or 
more of the value of paid-up stock owned by the purchasers. In- 
terest is charged on such debts at 5 or 6 per cent. Ordinarily no 
such accounts may be carried over the periods of quarterly or semi- 
annual settlement. Sales are also extensively made on the so-called 
" hire-purchase " system of bailment contracts. In the industrial 
communities where the societies exist the system of credit trading 
is so general in the private shops that competition has forced the co- 
operative societies to acquiesce in its adoption, although cash dealing 
is still held up as the cooperative ideal. 

Societies with withdrawable shares may receive savings deposits in 
amounts not over 10 shillings at one time up to a total of £20 ($97.33) 
per depositor. Other societies may carry on any banking operations 
provided for in their rules, taking loans or deposits up to the value 
of their capital, and making loans upon due property security. The 
loans received by societies may be devoted to enlarging or promoting 
the work of the enterprise, or may be invested in the cooperative 
wholesale societies or elsewhere. They bear varying rates of interest. 
The loans made by societies are often to members who wish to build 
homes, and are guaranteed only by a lien on such contemplated build- 
ings. Loans are also frequently made which enable working people 
to tide over periods of unemployment, illness, and the like. In either 
case the terms as regards interest and repayment are made favorable 
to the borrower. The size of such loans often is made to vary with 
the number of shares held by the recipient. The success of the 
societies in aiding members to construct homes is a matter of pride, 
and although no total figures are available the statistics of individual 
societies indicate that many thousands of persons have been so 
assisted. Derby, for example, has helped 1,022 borrowers, lending a 
total of $1,362,620, of which $997,632 has already been paid back. 

Many of the societies undertake to insure either their corporate 
property, or the property or lives of their members, against various 
contingencies. In other instances they simply act as agents for 
established insurance organizations, cooperative or other, and the 
first premium ordinarily received by agents goes to swell the societies' 
funds. Some societies have a plan whereby members are insured 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 23 

automatically to the amount of their average annual purchases dur- 
ing the three years preceding death, thus setting up an additional 
inducement for trading at the societies' stores. 

An allocation is made to offset the depreciation of the societies' 
property, the ordinary rates being 2^ per cent per annum on the 
value of realty, 10 per cent on the value of fixtures, and 20 per cent 
on the value of live stock. In any event the allowances have always 
proved more than sufficient to effect amortization in ample season. 
A reserve fund is also maintained by nearly all societies, provided 
for by the segregation of a low percentage of the surplus profits, 
which may be drawn upon in emergencies, for the inauguration of 
fresh undertakings, etc., at the discretion of the directors or of the 
general meetings. 

The pioneer cooperative societies allowed 2J per cent of their 
profits for an educational fund; but at the present time the amounts 
so devoted are rarely so large. Most societies, however, provide in- 
struction in accountancy, the principles of cooperation, economics 
with reference to betterment programs, and, in general, industrial 
history, domestic science, and cognate subjects. Lectures and other 
entertainments are frequently provided, and circulating libraries 
and reading rooms maintained at the disposal of members. In Wales, 
and in some other localities, vocal and instrumental musical organiza- 
tions are prominent features of the societies' activities. Many, if 
not most, of the societies provide an annual outing for their mem- 
bers, occasionally for several days but more often for one day only, 
in the form of a joint excursion, seaside picnic, or fair. These out- 
ing are paid for out of the reserve funds. The propaganda of the 
movement is carried on, in so far as the individual societies are con- 
cerned, through educational classes and personal evangelism. 

The sources from which retail societies procure their stocks of 
goods are various. As previously noted, many of the local societies 
maintain shops, factories, farms, etc., and produce many of the ar- 
ticles which they dispense. The range of these undertakings is 
extremely wide. Details as to the manner of operating them are 
meager, but it may be stated that they are carried on much after the 
manner of ordinary private enterprises. The hours of labor are never 
excessive, and employees receive a bonus on their wages equivalent to 
that received in dividends upon purchases by members. Goods not 
obtained from these undertakings are in general purchased from the 
cooperative wholesale societies of the country where the retail society 
is located. The local societies, however, even when members of the 
wholesale societies, are not bound to trade with the latter if better 
terms can be secured elsewhere, and as a matter of practice consid- 
erable outside purchases are made. 

The Cooperative Wholesale Societies, located at Manchester and 
Edinburgh, bear the same relation to the local retail societies which 
the latter bear to their own members. In order to join the Coopera- 
tive Wholesale Societies each society must purchase such an amount 
of its capital stock that one £5 ($24.33) share will be held for each 
five members of the applying organization. Shares may be paid for, 
after an initial payment, by installments and the interest and divi- 
dends accruing to the purchasing society. The net surplus profit of 
the Cooperative Wholesale Societies is divided among the constituent 
societies pro rata on purchases made. At general meetings of the 



24 COOPERATION AND THE COST OE LIVING. 

Cooperative Wholesale Societies each member society is entitled to 
one voting delegate for every 500 members on its rolls and for every 
part of 500 members. The general committee is composed of 32 per- 
sons, each elected for a term of two years. Cash trading is said to be 
a fundamental principle of the organization, and sales may be made 
to parties other than retail cooperative societies. 

As stated in its rules, the objects of the Cooperative Wholesale 
Societies are to carry on the trades or businesses of wholesale dealers, 
bankers, shippers, carriers, manufacturers, merchants, cultivators of 
land, workers of mines, and insurers of persons and property. It is 
probably the largest industrial venture in the United Kingdom, hav- 
ing agents or branches in every part of the British Isles, and, in fact, 
throughout the entire world. Its policy is to buy in all cases directly 
from producers, whether the article required be a product of the 
factory, the farm, the forest, or the mine. Butter, eggs, and bacon 
are purchased in Denmark and Canada, meat in Australia and New 
Zealand, grain and fruit in Canada and the United States, etc. 
The total importations into England by the Manchester Cooperative 
Wholesale Societies during 1909 were valued at $34,445,077, and 
originated in almost all the different countries of the globe. The two 
wholesale societies have also become very extensive manufacturing 
associations, as shown on page 11 above, and boast the largest and 
finest shoe and flour factories in Great Britain. Although a few 
purely productive societies are members of the Cooperative Whole- 
sale Societies, the latter in general regards productive societies with a 
certain disfavor as being in a sense competitors. Its banking and 
insurance operations are very extensive, and it serves as the financial 
agent of most of the retail societies. It has lately been reaching a 
better understanding than formerly existed with the single coopera- 
tive society in the United Kingdom which deals exclusively with 
insurance. 

The extent to which the retail societies confine their purchases to 
the two wholesale societies varies from slightly above 50 to nearly 
100 per cent of the total bought by each society. Manj r purchase 
from 90 to 95 per cent. The average appears to be not far from 75 
per cent. In all cases a large share of the articles taken by the retail 
societies from other sources than the Cooperative Wholesale Societies 
is constituted by farm and dairy produce. The dividend of 4d. 
(8 cents) on the pound ($4.8665) on all purchases is not large, but the 
prices of the Cooperative Wholesale Societies are said to be univer- 
sally fair in consideration of the quality of goods supplied. The 
wholesale societies, of course, have the advantage not only of buying 
direct but of selling largely without the employment of commercial 
travelers to visit the purchasing societies. The prices asked are 
usually the current quotations in the open market. 

The cooperative agricultural societies are aided by the Agricultural 
Organization Society in negotiations with railway companies, Gov- 
ernment departments, and business houses. They sustain the Agri- 
cultural Organization Society by voluntary contributions, and apply 
to it for advice as occasion arises. Agricultural cooperative societies 
are organized in much the same manner as distributive societies, 
although the number of shares a member may hold is often made 
contingent upon the number of acres which he farms. A number of 
the societies sell at reduced rates and issue no dividends. Some 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 25 

societies refuse to accept members who do not own a specified amount 
of land. 

The objects of agricultural cooperative societies vary greatly. 
Supplies of all kinds are purchased jointly at wholesale, including 
farm machinery, fertilizer, seeds, feedstuff, and domestic necessaries. 
Farm produce is graded and distributed through depots maintained 
in neighboring towns or through selling agents. Markets are visited 
by agents, who inform the members of their societies as to the quality 
and price of produce. Under the small holdings and allotments act 
of 1908 local authorities are empowered to let land to associations 
" so constituted that the division of profits amongst the members is 
prohibited or restricted." Many societies have been formed to take 
advantage of this provision. Cooperative dairying is carried on in 
much the same way as in the United States. Cooperative poultry 
associations have been markedly successful in Scotland and Ireland. 
Many societies assist in bettering the strain of the live stock owned 
by their members through the procuring of pedigreed breeding ani- 
mals. Scientific methods, careful management, and sanitary pre- 
cautions are encouraged. Remote districts are opened up by motor 
traction where railway or other transportation facilities have proven 
inadequate. Agricultural credit and insurance associations are fairly 
numerous. 

Each agricultural county in England has a so-called farmers' 
union, similar to grange organizations in the United States, of which 
almost any farmer may become a member. These organizations 
confine their activities to attending to legal proceedings, securing 
analysis of fertilizer and seeds, etc. The Agricultural Organization 
Society has branches in Ireland and Scotland, the Irish body being 
the elder and perhaps larger, while the Scotch is at present more 
active. The Agricultural Organization Society, partly through the 
Cooperative Union, is seeking to bring about a better coordination 
between the agricultural cooperative societies and the general dis- 
tributive retail societies in towns. As yet city cooperators have not 
been inclined to accord any preference to agricultural cooperative 
societies in making purchases of country produce or in quoting rates 
on supplies sought by the latter. One of the leading difficulties in 
connection with the application of the cooperative idea to agricultural 
communities is the obstacle constituted by the scattering character of 
farming neighborhoods, which do not lend themselves to action in 
common as does a city quarter where most of the residents are opera- 
tives in the same mill, etc. The hostility of commission men toward 
farmers who are able to dispose of only a part of their produce 
through their society is another deterrent to the movement. 

Cooperative undertakings of a purely productive character are 
relatively few, and the plans of operation are diverse. In general, 
the employees in such concerns own practically all of the stock, and 
the management is salaried. Surplus profits are divided proportion- 
ately to the wages received by the various employees, such appor- 
tionments coming often in the form of additional stock, which may 
be transferred only to fellow employees and under the strictest regu- 
lations. Copartnership factories of this kind manufacture flour, 
cloth, etc. A Scotch concern operates a chain of bakeries through- 
out Scotland and Ireland. Such organizations may be, and often are, 



26 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

affiliated with the Cooperative Union, but they are not in cordial 
relations with distributive societies which carry on production. 

The Cooperative Union, located at Manchester, is supported by 
nearly all the cooperative societies in the United Kingdom, or at 
least by the great majority of them. Each member society holds 
a nominal share of 5 shillings ($1.22) and makes a contribution of 4 
cents per member to the expenses of the union. The general objects 
of the Cooperative Union are the diffusion of information in regard 
to the movement and the assistance of individual societies. It main- 
tains committees on education, joint propaganda, legislation, exhibi- 
tions, trade unionism, credit trading, and legal defense. Special com- 
mittees are appointed as occasion arises. Specimen printed rules for 
all varieties of cooperative societies are furnished at low cost to per- 
sons wishing to inaugurate such societies. Statistics as to the 
progress and position of the movement are compiled from returns 
made annually to the union from all affiliated societies. Under the 
auspices of the Cooperative Union have been held the annual coop- 
erative congresses which began in 1868, the forty-third congress 
occurring at Bradford on June 5-7, 1911. At these congresses current 
developments of the movement are discussed, conflicting interests 
harmonized, and a mutual exchange of experiences effected. The 
Cooperative Union maintains branches in Scotland and Ireland. 

Many cooperative societies maintain arrangements with doctors, 
dentists, artisans, and even dealers in goods not handled by the 
societies, by which members of the societies secure dividend checks 
when patronizing these persons. In other words, a commission is 
allowed to the societies by the parties with whom the arrangements 
are made, in consideration of the patronage afforded. 

Inasmuch as very many cooperators are members of labor unions 
there has been constant liability that the two movements would to 
some extent coalesce. Up to the present time, however, although the 
Cooperative Union has a committee on labor unionism and the two 
movements send representatives to each other's conventions, there 
has been no active aid or official cooperation between them. 

A woman's cooperative guild organizes the women members of 
cooperative societies in many vicinities for social and similar pur- 
poses. It has a representative on the educational committee of the 
Cooperative Union. 

The following are the leading weekly and monthly publications 
of the cooperative movement: 



Name. 



Cooperative News 

Millgate Monthly 

Our Circle 

Scottish Cooperator 

The Wheatsheaf 

Copartnership 

Cooperative Employee. 



Societies 
supplied. 



950 
576 
480 
186 
1500 



660 



Circula- 
tion. 



78,000 
12,000 
24,000 
26,800 
390,000 
7,000 
13,000 



1 Includes 440 societies which issue the Wheatsheaf as their own record, with from 1 to 16 pages printed 
specially for themselves. 

In addition to the above there are not far from 40 local society 
records published, with circulations ranging from 1,000 to 16,000. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 27 

English cooperation is affiliated with the International Coopera- 
tive Alliance, which comprises the leading cooperative organizations 
in the continental countries and hold international congresses tri- 
ennially. Outside of the United Kingdom membership in this asso- 
ciation is held only by national organizations. It is supported by 
membership fees. The following is a list of international cooperative 
congresses : 

1895. London, Earl Grey presiding. 

1896. Paris, M. Jules Seigfried presiding. 

1897. Delft, J. C. van Marken presiding. 
1900. Paris, M. Jules Seigfried presiding. 
1902. Manchster, H. W. Wolff presiding. 

1904. Budapest, Count Alexander Karolyi presiding. 
1907. Cremona, H. E. Luigi Luzzatti presiding. 
1910. Hamburg, William Maxwell presiding. 
1913. Glasgow. 

A number of reports mention quasi private cooperative concerns 
paterned to a greater or less degree after the Rochdale and allied 
systems. No figures are possible, but apparently there are not a few 
successful private stores in various English cities which refund to 
their purchasers quarterly a dividend as large or larger than the 
cooperative societies of the vicinity and are able to retain patronage 
year after year. Such concerns advertise as " thrift stores," and are 
said to furnish a fair quality of merchandise and still pay 10 per 
cent or more interest to their owners. 

The most important quasi private cooperative institutions, however, 
are the Army and Navy Stores, the Junior Army and Navy Stores, 
and the Civil Service Supply Association. The latter originated 
among the emploj^ees of the post-office department, who clubbed 
together to secure wholesale rates on the more common household 
supplies. The experiment was an immediate success. Other govern- 
mental employees joined the movement, and in 1866 the association 
was registered under the then-existing industrial and provident socie- 
ties act. It established the first department stores in London, and 
after the lapse of many years was opened to the general public. Its 
sales last year totaled $9,733,000. No dividends are paid, and the ob- 
ject is simply to furnish a high grade of goods at the most reasonable 
prices which disinterested management and wholesale purchasing 
can make possible. Information as to the Army and Navy Stores is 
rather indefinite, but these, as well as the Junior Army and Navy 
Stores, are operated on the same general lines as the Civil Service 
Supply Association. The Junior Army and Navy Stores originated 
in 1879 to effect cooperative purchase by the officers of the royal army 
and navy. They were thrown open to the public in 1909. Member- 
ship signifies merely the privilege of trading at the stores, and is 
secured by the purchase of a ticket costing 60 cents per annum. The 
profits go to the shareholders, who may or may not be purchasers. 
There are no rebates, and the aim is merely to furnish genuine goods 
at moderate prices. Trade is usually against a cash deposit made in 
advance. The head office is in London, and there are five branches, 
including one at Malta. 

Consumers' coal associations have recently succeeded in a number 
of British cities. A representative organization of this type in 
London operates by securing competitive tenders from leading col- 
lieries each summer and, when prices have thus been ascertained, 



28 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

furnishing order blanks to members upon which the latter contract 
for the next winter's supply. The amounts of these orders are 
totaled and arrangements are concluded with the successful bidders. 
The coal is delivered and paid for from time to time during the 
following winter upon orders from the purchasing member. Each 
member is liable only for the amount of his contract order. Mem- 
bership is secured by purchasing a share of the concern's stock 
at £1 ($4.8665), or by taking a life ticket at $2.55. The saving per 
ton of coal has varied recently from 80 cents to $1.30 per ton, accord- 
ing to grade of coal and other circumstances. 

III. DELIVERY AND DISTRIBUTION OF PURCHASES. 

In most city societies an agent calls at members' homes at stated 
intervals to receive orders — as semiweekly, biweekly, or weekly — 
which are thereupon filled and delivered. During the intervals be- 
tween such deliveries members are expected to purchase and carry 
away in person such goods as they require. In many instances stores 
are located in thickly populated communities, factory towns, etc., 
where the members are willing to take their purchases with them and 
find little inconvenience in so doing. On the other hand, in some 
places the societies maintain immediate-delivery systems identically 
similar to those employed by private traders. 

IV. RELATIONS BETWEEN COOPERATIVE AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS. 

The attitude of cooperative toward noncooperative stores is gener- 
ally reported to be that of indifference. Purchases are made from 
private sources almost as freely as from affiliated cooperative organi- 
zations, the price and quality being the determining factors. 

When cooperation was in its early stages it was regarded with gen- 
eral alarm by the business world in England. Wholesale houses 
which sold to cooperative societies were boycotted, as were also 
traders and artisans who joined the societies. Workmen who became 
members of the societies were sometimes dismissed from their posi- 
tions in factories. 

Opposition on the part of noncooperative tradesmen seems now 
to have become decidedly less intense. Many dealers are said to feel 
that alert and energetic private merchants have little to fear from 
cooperation, both because of the lack of business ability sometimes 
evinced in its management and because it has appeared to appeal and 
cater mainly to the poorer classes and to deal with staple articles 
upon which profits are never high. Private stores can give longer 
credits and more attentive service, and usually carry a more diversi- 
fied stock. Some private concerns seek the trade of cooperative 
societies on the ground that the latter are uniformly financially 
responsible and in many cases pay cash. 

On the other hand, a widespread antagonism against cooperation 
still exists among British shopkeepers, and " private tradesmen's de- 
fense associations," although not usually joined by the larger private 
firms, are influential in many localities. They conduct with more 
or less enegy campaigns of criticism against cooperation, and seek 
with varying success to prevent the election of cooperators to munici- 
pal offices, chambers of commerce, etc. Efforts to entangle the coop- 



COOPERATION AND THE OOST OF LIVING. 29 

erative movement in politics have been constant, but thus far unsuc- 
cessful. 

The most general grievance is that cooperative societies are ex- 
empted from paying the income tax on their gross surplus. Private 
joint-stock companies are obliged by Schedules C and D of the in- 
come-tax law to pay income tax on their profits before distribution, 
while under clause 24 of the industrial and provident societies act co- 
operative societies are freed from this obligation. The cooperators 
point out that private joint stock companies are usually owned by 
persons whose private incomes would be assessable in any event, while 
in the case of cooperative societies most of the shareholders are in 
very moderate circumstances. 

V. EFFECTS OF COOPERATION ; COST OF LTVING, ETC. 

The minor or incidental results of cooperation are in hot dispute. 
The advocates of cooperation believe that it has promoted thrift and 
economy. They say that it has aided in educating the masses and 
raising their ideals. Also that it has engendered a knowledge of 
and desire for democracy in all affairs which concern the general 
welfare of the public ; as, for instance, that it has assisted the move- 
ment for the municipalization of public utilities. They maintain 
that the influence of its productive branches and of the management 
of the employees in its stores has been for shorter hours, fairer wages, 
and a general amelioration of the condition of the wage-earning 
classes. 

The critics of cooperation, on the contrary, say that the practice 
of intrusting savings to an automatic substitute for thrift is demoral- 
izing and leads the laboring classes to accept inferior goods with 
indifference so long as they receive a large " divi." They point to 
the fact that cooperative societies usually pay the dividends just 
before the semiannual "term days" when rent falls due, Whitsun- 
day, May 15, and Martinmas, November 11, so that cooperators be- 
come dependent upon dividends for rent payments. The proportion 
of pauperism in the United Kingdom, it is noted, is highest in the 
same region where cooperation is most universal, the Lancashire 
industrial district. The tendency to democracy is stigmatized as 
socialism, since the cooperators are often connected with the social- 
istic movement. The elimination of private enterprise is greatly 
deplored. It is argued that cooperators buy their goods where they 
can not sell their labor, thus upsetting a supposed normal economic 
condition. In regard to wages and hours of labor, it is claimed that 
the cooperative societies are far from liberal, sacrificing their em- 
ployees (just as the quality of their goods) to the so-called "craze 
for dividends." When the Cooperative Union recently sent out a 
circular to 1,251 societies requesting their assent to a plan for stand- 
ardizing a minimum wage scale for female labor, only 79 approved 
the proposal and only 195 answered at all. It is said that the co- 
operative societies themselves complain that they have constant 
trouble in retaining employees who develop any marked ability. 
When employees are intrusted with buying for their societies, as is 
usually the case, they are subjected to attempts to bribe; and not 
long ago the societies were forced to conduct an extensive investiga- 
tion into the existence of bribery among their employees, some of the 



30 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



Congleton $0. 80 

Moorlands .61 

Mayfield . 59 

Oswestry . 40 

Sandbach . 77 

Birmingham . 49 

Southampton . 36 

Huddersfield . 73 



results indicating underpayment as the cause. The selection of fore- 
men in factories or mines as officers in cooperative societies is said to 
have widely resulted in intimidation and petty tyranny in favor of 
cooperation. 

In connection with the cost of living it seems best to state the 
assertions in derogation of the claim of cooperation that it lowers the 
prices of the necessaries of life. The cooperative societies do not 
purport to sell at less than current market prices and, consequently, 
whatever saving is effected is measured by the returned dividends. 
In the average society these dividends are substantial, and probably 
for the entire country would average not far from 9 per cent of the 
purchase price paid by the cooperative purchasers, although no defi- 
nite statement can be made. In Ireland the dividends range from 
5 to 7J per cent on an average. The total profits of the retail 
societies of the Kingdom, as a whole, average over 15 per cent of the 
sales value, but much of these profits goes to special funds instead of 
being returned in the form of dividends. The following are the 
dividends paid by certain typical societies, stated in the number of 
cents returned on each $4.8665 worth of purchases: 

Nottingham $0. 48 

Derby . 60 

Belfast . 365 

Leeds . 65 

Burslem . 45 

Shrewsbury . 48 

Crewe . 67 

St. Cuthbert 1.05 

Edinburgh (district) .595 

The dividends range higher in the northern central and other in- 
dustrial districts than elsewhere, owing to the less complicated stocks 
of goods dealt with and the willingness of working people to dis- 
pense with the delivery of their purchases. 

The critics of the cooperative movement, however, allege that these 
dividends are obtained only by (1) secrificing the purity and excel- 
lence of the merchandise furnished, or by (2) an actual raising of 
prices to compensate for the amount of the dividends. In so far as 
these charges are true they would of course neutralize any apparent 
saving gained through dividends. It is said that the acumen or 
interest of the average persons in charge of cooperative business is 
not such that they can or do operate with any real and considerable 
profit, and that a knowledge that they will be judged eventually by 
the amount of the dividends returned leads to price raising and the 
sale of inferior goods. Often cooperative managements decline to go 
into the details of price determination, assuming to be sufficient a 
mere statement that they charge a " fair " price based upon the cost 
of producing and obtaining the goods. This attitude carries an in- 
ferential appeal to support short hours and wholesome conditions of 
labor, but may conceal poor judgment or improvident direction. 
Three of the consuls send in price schedules to show that, irrespective 
of quality of goods, prices in the cooperative stores in their districts 
are sufficiently in excess of current prices to more than account for 
the dividends returned. The fact that the " thrift stores " can some- 
times thrive and pay a large bonus on purchases in communities 
where cooperation is also intrenched is urged in support of the alle- 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 31 

gation that the dividends of cooperative stares do not represent real 
saving. Certain of the annual holidays or outings of cooperators 
have oeen of a character to give color to the charge that ignorant 
working people will buy at cooperative shops no matter what the 
grade of goods in order to secure money for temporary dissipations 
as well as for periodic debts like rent. Finally it is urged against 
the dividend system that the profits from which the dividends are 
paid are made largely on certain lines of goods, such as luxuries, 
while the purchasers who never buy such goods secure the benefit. In 
this way it is said that the more well-to-do members pay the dividends 
of the poorer members, or where the societies chance to make their 
profits rather on the staples than on the luxuries the reverse is true 
and the poorer members pay the dividends of the others. Also dis- 
criminating members buy at the cooperative stores only those articles 
which are cheapest there and on which no profit is made, obtaining 
their other goods elsewhere, and thus securing an unfair share of 
the dividends. 

But while the cooperative system may be liable to such perversions, 
and its operation may in some instances justify criticism, the consuls 
do not generally state that such conditions are prevalent. In dis- 
cussing the relation of cooperation to the cost of living the reports 
usually seem to indicate that the dividends paid back to purchasing 
members do measure roughly a real reduction in the price of the 
articles bought. No imputation is anywhere cast upon the genuine- 
ness of the ideals and the high-mindedness of the central cooperative 
organizers; and the endeavor of all the instructive and educational 
forces of the movement is reported such as to run directly counter to 
any unfortunate tendencies. Even supposing that in some cases the 
dividends do not indicate any immediate price economy, the members 
of the society would still receive the benefit of educational, social, 
and credit facilities which have a real and even a money value. In 
the words of the societies themselves, " We stand for principles as 
well as dividends." It is, moreover, true that in periods when prices 
are generally low the private dealers will be able to put up the quo- 
tations on certain quasi-luxuries which the cooperative societies will 
still sell at nearer the low cost prices. It is noted by several consuls 
that the formation and presence of cooperative societies in a com- 
munity has a general tendency to keep down the prices asked by the 
private shops, and thus to benefit the public at large. The competi- 
tion of such societies has resulted in the abandonment by many 
private firms of the plan of dealing with middlemen, such firms now 
doing their own buying and reducing prices accordingly. In remote 
regions where lack of transportation has given a virtual monopoly to 
private firms cooperation has frequently been the means of remedying 
the condition resulting. In general the consuls appear to believe that 
a real saving is effected by this system of cooperative purchasing 
which now is used by about one- fourth of the population of the 
British Isles. 

The semiprivate cooperative schemes, when successful, appear also 
to have a tendency to lower the cost of living. It is reported that 
competing traders advertise as an inducement prices as low as those 
of the army and navy and similar stores. 

Bureau or Trade Relations, Department oi State, 
March 1, 1912, 



32 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING, 

UNITED KINGDOM. 

[Inclosure with dispatch from the American consulate general, London, England, dated 

Dec. 20, 1911.] 

While an experiment in cooperation was made in Scotland in the latter part 
of the eighteenth century, cooperation in England in the modern sense dates 
back less than 70 years to the formation of the pioneer society in Rochdale. 
The natural home of cooperation has been in the north rather than in the south 
of England. It has developed most rapidly and most successfully in the great 
industrial and manufacturing centers suoii as Manchester (Rochdale is only 
12 miles distant), Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford, and New- 
castle. There is hardly a village or hamlet, however inconspicuous, in what is 
described as the industrial portion of England without its cooperative store. 

The cooperative movement, as is well known, originated primarily in the 
desire to eliminate the profits of the middleman and thereby to reduce the cost 
of living to the great body of the people, and also to secure, if possible, pure 
and unadulterated food for the masses. The results of the movement will 
appear in the unfolding of this report. 

ROCHDALE AND THE COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT. 

In 1844, 28 weavers in Rochdale, England, founded an organization through 
which its members were enabled to buy certain commodities at more advan- 
tageous terms and thereby reduce the cost of living. They began with a capital 
of only £28 ($136), each member subscribing fl ($4.86), and invested the same 
in " flour, sugar, butter, and oatmeal." As a society they bought their goods at 
wholesale prices and as individuals they purchased of the society at the usual 
retail prices, without credit. The difference between the two prices was the 
gross profit made by the society. After the payment of expenses the net profits 
were divided in the following manner: (1) Five per cent dividend to share- 
holders on the par value of the shares, and (2) dividend to buyers according to 
the amount of their purchases. In 1910 the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers had a 
membership of 18,282 with total assets of £414,746 ($2,018,361). They employed 
407 people and paid wages amounting to £25,871 ($125,901). Their sales aggre- 
gated £382,778 ($1,862,789), of which the net profit was £66,312 ($322,707); 
£13,041 ($63,464) of the net profit was returned to the memHers in the form of 
interest or dividend on shares and the balance at the rate of 3s. 3d. (79 cents) 
per pound sterling was paid as a dividend on purchases. 

This short sketch of the Rochdale Society may be taken as fairly typical of 
the growth of the cooperative movement in the United Kingdom. 

Similar societies soon sprang up in v,arious parts of the United Kingdom, 
particularly in those sections where laboring men operated in groups, as in 
textile mills and in steel and iron manufacturing plants. The movement to- 
day is far stronger among such sections than in other parts of the country. 
The constitution of the original Pioneer Society has been perpetuated in prin- 
ciple, even to the present time, so that to-day, when it is desired to organize a 
cooperative society those who are interested meet together, select a temporary 
committee which invites all those in the vicinity who are in sympathy with 
cooperation to meet together for the purpose of effecting an organization. At 
such meeting the principles of the cooperative movement are explained, and 
all those to whom they appeal are invited to become members. Such intending 
members then meet for the purpose of organization. Each person subscribes 
for at least one share of £1 ($4.86) value, and a committee is then elected. 
This committee constitutes the board of directors or managers of the institution, 
and usually selects the officers, including chairman, manager, secretary, etc. 
The committee also reserves to itself the right to select all subordinate officers, 
more frequently, however, upon the recommendation of the principal officers. 
One pound ($4.86) is the minimum requirement for membership, and no mem- 
ber may hold shares of more than the aggregate value of £200 ($973). Upon 
subscribing the member is required to pay a deposit of at least Is. (24 cents), 
and he may, as is usually the case, allow his dividends to be applied upon the 
payment of his share. 

Dividends are paid to-day throughout the cooperative societies, as has already 
been indicated in the case of the Rochdale Pioneers. 

In the early days of the movement many obstacles were encountered, particu- 
larly in the form of boycotts by private trading institutions; the wholesale 
establishments withheld supplies from the societies because of their fear of 
losing the patronage of the private retail traders. In order to overcome this 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



33 



difficulty wholesale societies were organized within the cooperative movement, 
one for Scotland and one for England and. Wales. These wholesale societies 
stand to the retail organizations in exactly the same manner as the retail 
societies stand to the individual member. In other words, the membership of 
the wholesale societies is constituted by the retail societies, which hold shares 
of stock in the wholesale organizations, and by virtue thereof have a voice in 
its management. A board of directors is elected in the same manner as indi- 
cated above, and this board in turn is responsible for the management of the 
wholesale society. 

Difficulties continued to confront the movement, even after the organization 
of the wholesale societies, for many concerns, particularly manufacturers of 
proprietary articles, refused to sell even to the wholesale societies. As a direct 
result the movement has solved and is solving the problem by the organization 
of productive societies, so that to-day it is estimated that perhaps as much as 
50 per cent of the goods sold in cooperative stores is manufactured by the 
productive societies themselves. 

The productive societies above referred to, which are operated by wholesale 
societies in connection with their general organization, are distinct from the 
productive societies which are referred to later in this report. 

COOPERATIVE UNION. 

The following table will indicate the present proportions of the productive 
cooperative movement in the United Kingdom for the year 1910 : 



Socie- 
ties. 



Em- 
ployees. 



Capital 
employed. 



Trade 

during 

year. 



Profit. 



Loss. 



England and Wales 
Scotland 

English, wholesale . 
Scottish, wholesale . 

Total 



100 
17 

1 
1 



6,431 

2,152 

15,241 

5,373 



$4, 757, 111 
2,847,092 

13,030,725 
3,927,149 



$11,257,752 

4,233,724 

32,027,945 

11,851,451 



$445,533 
477,311 
721,940 
512,039 



119 



29, 197 



24,562,077 



59,370,872 



2,156,823 



$19,953 



59, 198 



79, 151 



SUMMARY OF INDUSTRIES. 





Amount. 




Amount. 


Cotton, linen, silk, and wool: 

England 


$2,427,493 

594,321 

3,560,682 


Corn milling: 

England 


$4,960,905 
19,347,632 


Scotland 


Wholesale societies 




Total 

Baking: 

England 




24,308,637 


Total 


6,538,696 






Boots, shoes, and leather: 


1,808,688 
3,984,038 


141,053 


England 


Scotland 


3,494.453 




Total 




3,635,506 


Total 


5,792,726 


Laundries: 

England 






Metal and hardware: 


281,053 
230,341 


89,938 
65,970 


England 


Scotland 




Total. . 






155,908 


Total 


511,394 


Various: 

England 






Woodworking: 


171,943 
572,290 


472, 508 


England 


Wholesale societies 


14,978,524 


Wholesale societies 


Total 




15,451,032 


Total 


744,239 


Grand total ,...., 

By error in addition under heading 
"Cotton, linen, silk, and wool" 




69,370,872 
43,798 


Building and quarrying, England 


224, 496 


Printing and Book binding: 

England 


723,473 

80,979 

1,203,885 


69,414,670 


Scotland 






Wholesale societies 








Total 


2,008,338 









34247°— H. Doe. 617, 62-2- 



34 • COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

Note: To the total of $59,370,872 given in the summary of industries for 
1910 must be added a further sum of £9,000 ($43,798), because in the first 
item of said summary, viz, " Cotton, linen, silk, and wool " for England, Scot- 
land, and wholesale societies, it will be noticed that while the total is given 
as $6,538,696, the separate items when added together give a total of $6,582,496. 
An effort has been made to ascertain how the discrepancy arose in the report 
of the central board of the Cooperative Union (Ltd.), but it seems impossible 
to secure any information upon the subject, and therefore this explanation is 
made so that the correct total may be given. 

Cooperative societies are classified as follows: Productive societies, whole- 
sale societies, distributing societies, supply associations, special societies. 

The productive societies are organizations of producers, as retail societies 
are organizations of consumers. They constitute partnership of labor rather 
than of capital ; the workers themselves are the shareholders. The products are 
sold in the open market to anyone who desires to buy. A fair proportion finds 
its way over the counters ef the retail societies, but seldom, if at all, are its 
products taken by the wholesale societies, which consider the productive socie- 
ties to be in a sense in competition with themselves. The productive societies, 
I am informed, are never members of the wholesale societies, but are affiliated 
with the Cooperative Union (Ltd.). 

AEMY AND NAVY STORES AND SIMILAR ASSOCIATIONS. 

There are in London a number of large shops known as the Army and Navy 
and the Junior Army and Navy Stores and the Civil Service Supply Associa- 
tion. These shops are not, however, cooperative, as they are simply associations 
in which all the profits go to the shareholders and no dividends are paid to the 
ordinary purchaser. As a rule, it is necessary before one can trade at these 
shops to secure an annual or a life ticket of membership. The charge for the 
annual ticket by the Army and Navy Stores is now 2s. 6d. (60 cents) ; it was 
formerly 5s. ($1.21), and for life membership £1 10s. ($7.29). The charges for 
the annual and life membership vary somewhat in the different organizations. 
The prices, as a rule, at these shops are the prevailing prices of the leading 
department stores in London. At the Army and Navy Stores a cash deposit is 
required, and in event the purchaser should exceed the amount of the deposit 
he is promptly notified and is expected to at once make a sufficient deposit to 
cover the deficit and to anticipate his purchases for a short period — a week or 
a month or more, according to his practice. 

The Junior Army and Navy Stores date back to 1879 and was originally 
founded upon the principle of cooperation for officers of the Royal navy and 
army and auxiliary forces and their families. The stores were opened to the 
general public by resolution of the shareholders in 1909. No tickets are re- 
quired to permit one to trade with the Army and Navy Stores, the requirement 
having been abolished in 1909. The head offices of the stores are in London, 
with branches at Dublin, Aldershot, Portsmouth, Tunbridge Wells, Gibraltar, 
and Malta. 

As the name implies, the Civil Service Supply Association was organized for 
the benefit of the members of the civil service. The staff of the post office was 
the first to think of a purchasing association, which secured for its members a 
substantial discount for cash purchases from certain tradesmen. The mem- 
bers likewise clubbed together to buy tea, sugar, and similar necessities in bulk 
at wholesale prices, distributing the goods pro rata among themselves. The 
savings effected by this direct purchase were so substantial, and the merit of 
the system was so clearly and quickly demonstrated, that employees in other 
Government offices desired to participate in its benefit. The result was a union 
of civil servants and a large number of their friends, merging the post office 
association into the Civil Service Supply Association (Ltd.), which was regis- 
tered in February, 1866, under the industrial and provident societies act. 

On several grounds particular interest attaches to this establishment of the 
Civil Service Supply Association. Its object was specified as being " to carry 
on the trade of general dealers, so as to secure * * * the supply of articles 
of all kinds, both for domestic consumption and general use, at the lowest pos- 
sible price." Hitherto shopkeepers had confined themselves to the sale of one 
class of goods, so that the purchase of half a dozen articles entailed visits to 
as many shops. In fulfilling its purpose of supplying " articles of all kinds " 
the Civil Service Supply Association established in London the first " stores," 
comprising every business within itself, and supplying the every need of a cus- 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 35 

tomer — from a packet of pins to a complete outfit and commissariat for a 
tropical or arctic expedition. At the same time the civil-service stores, by elim- 
inating the middleman and instituting direct cash dealings with its members, 
made its prices as low as it made its stock and business comprehensive. The 
sales of the Civil Service Supply Association have increased from £20,000 
($97,330) the first year to probably over £2,000,000 ($9,733,000) last year. 
Annual tickets which give the rights of purchasing goods at the civil-service 
stores are issued at a charge of 2s. 6d. (60 cents), and the permanent right of 
purchase is given by the payment of 12s. 6d. ($3.04), either at one time or by 
five annual subscriptions. These cards, as in the case of the Army and Navy 
Stores, are issued to the general public. 

THE ASSOCIATED COAL CONSUMERS (LTD.). 

There is one feature of the cooperative movement having for its object the 
supply of coal at a reduced price which is attracting a good deal of attention. 
The Associated Coal Consumers (Ltd.) has been organized for the purpose of 
supplying its shareholders with coal direct from the collieries at first cost, en- 
tirely eliminating trade profits and expenses. The members of the association 
limit their liability by registering the company under the limited liability act 
and not responsible except for the coal they each individually receive. The 
average saving in the price paid for coal ranges, it is said, from 3s. 3d. (80 
cents) to 5s. 4d. ($1.30) per ton. 

In order that the working may be better understood, every midsummer the 
directors invite tenders from the collieries for qualities selected by the associa- 
tion experts. The special annual list is then sent out to all members on the 
register in London and the Provinces with forms for the members to fill up so 
as to reserve their requirements for the year. 

When these forms are returned by the date fixed (usually June 30) the 
tonnage is combined and the contracts concluded with the collieries, so that 
every member is a party to contracts for many thousands of tons (but under 
the limited liability act is not responsible for his comembers' debts), and thus 
secures his annual supply upon the advantage of the large contracts. 

The members afterwards order supplies against their reserves as they require 
delivery over the year ensuing, paying only for the coal as delivered. 

The directors usually secure in the summer for forward delivery a consider- 
ably larger quantity of coal than is reserved by members on the forms as 
completed by the fixed date. 

All subsequent orders are accepted subject to confirmation at the special 
prices. 

Intermediate lists are afterwards issued on application. 

It is to the advantage of every member individually and the combine gen- 
erally to complete and send in their forms by the fixed date, so as to enable 
the directors to contract for the largest possible tonnage. 

New members joining later in the season, although not pro tern, securing such 
good terms as those who have had the opportunity of securing their supply 
against the special annual list, will rank equally the following midsummer with 
other members. 

Price lists indorsed " Intermediate list " will only give the prices current at 
the time of issue. If prices forward are desired, applicants should state their 
requirements. 

It is clearly stated and understood that the form of estimate of the require- 
ments of coal for the ensuing 12 months is not an order, but a form to reserve 
the quantity stated for the year at fixed prices, and orders must be sent from 
time to time during the year as deliveries are required. 

Membership is obtainable by one of two methods — either (a) by payment of 
a life subscription of $2.55 or (fc) by taking one or more £1 ($4.87) 6 per cent 
preferred shares, fully paid. 

The profits are not distributed among the various members, but only to those 
who hold shares. 

The association includes among its members a considerable number of wealthy 
people. 

In order to insure reserves for the London members against contingencies, 
arrangements have been made with the northern railroads for accommodation, 
free of charge, in consideration of the traffic. 

The registered capital of the association is $.243,325, divided into 50,000 pre- 
ferred shares at $4.8665 and 1,000 deferred shares at 24 cents. 



36 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

CASH PAYMENTS REQUIRED. 

An important feature of the cooperative societies, generally, is that cash pay- 
ments are uniformly required. The application of this principle to the retail 
or distributive societies has the effect of making the society a savings bank for 
its members. Whenever a sale is made the member is given a check or ticket 
of some sort which indicates the amount of his purchase. These tickets are 
presented quarterly or semiannually, as the case may be, in order that the pur- 
chaser may receive the dividends on his purchases. In some cases, however, 
the member refuses to accept payments and allows his dividends to accumulate 
with the society. 

AGRICULTURAL COOPERATION. 

A very significant manifestation of the cooperative movement in recent years 
has been its application to agriculture. On December 1, 1911, there were 463 
registered cooperative agricultural societies in England and Wales affiliated to 
the Agricultural Organization Society (Ltd.). These societies had a turnover 
in 1910 of the aggregate value of £1,974,900 ($9,610,850). About one-half of the 
agricultural societies are organized for the supply of requirements and sale of 
produce and as allotments and small holdings societies. Among the societies 
enumerated are dairy, bottled-milk, and cheese-making societies, fruit-grading 
societies, motor-service societies, and cooperative farming societies, agricultural 
credit societies, and cooperative milling societies. An indication of the rapid 
growth of agricultural cooperative organizations in England and Wales is the 
fact that while at the close of 1901 there were only 25 such societies, at the 
close of 1906 the number had increased to 137, and, as already stated, on 
December 1 of this year the total was nearly 500. 

The secretary of the Agricultural Organization Society stated in an address 
on "Agricultural cooperation and its relation to cooperative distributive socie- 
ties," delivered at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1909, that " it will be found necessary 
more than likely to erect and equip depots at convenient centers in the area 
covered by each district federation for the collection and distribution of agri- 
cultural produce. It may here be asked, What class of produce would be dealt 
with at these depots? The nature of agricultural or horticultural produce 
grown in the district where the depot is situate would determine this. Each 
depot would have to be erected and equipped to meet such local conditions, but 
the range of products would be a very wide one indeed. Whether this produce 
shall be graded and packed at the local depot or sent on in bulk to a large cen- 
tral depot to be dealt with is a question the answer to which will vary in each 
instance, owing to the diversity in the local conditions and the requirements of 
the outlets. 

" The larger products, such as wheat, hay, beef, mutton, and pork, could be 
dealt with only at large central depots, but the local depots would act as agents 
in ascertaining and controlling the supply. 

" It should also be possible to utilize distributive stores in rural districts as 
collectors ef produce and feeders of the local or central depot. Large dis- 
tributive societies, such as those at Leeds, Plymouth, Newcastle, etc., that have 
several branches in rural districts, could give considerable help in this direction. 

" The question may be asked, Would a depot be able to dispose of all the 
produce the farmer has to sell through the distributive movement, or would it 
be necessary to form a separate organization to dispose of the surplus? This, 
to my mind, presents a great difficulty. The farmer sends his produce to the 
local shopkeeper or disposes of it to the higgler, or huckster, or dealer, who 
takes all he has to sell. It is therefore natural to expect that these middlemen 
would say to the farmer, if he asked them to take what the depot did not 
require : ' You may hunt for outlets now. You only come to me when the depot 
refuses you.' Or, on the other hand, they might offer him a price that left no 
margin of profit. If such a result as this was brought about, then it would be 
far better for the depot not to attempt to deal with any of the produce, but let 
the farmer do the best he could for himself. If, however, all the produce could 
be taken, then in a few years a revolution would take place in our rural dis- 
tricts by the removal of a load of indebtedness to dealers, agents, and others 
that is as a galling millstone around the neck of nearly all classes in the farming 
community. These are the rings of middlemen mentioned in No. 2 recommenda- 
tion of the Woolwich Congress, 1896, ' who control the market in large towns, 
are supplied by the lower grade of middlemen or hucksters, who collect from 
the actual producers.' 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 37 

" In the course of time these depots would become most powerful centers for 
educating the small holder and others in this neighborhood to produce the exact 
class of produce required by the distributive societies for their members. The 
main incentive to bringing about this result would be that better prices were 
being obtained by reason of the improvement in the quality and uniformity of 
the produce sent in." 

Various attempts have been made to identify the agricultural productive 
societies more closely with the cooperative distributive societies, and at the 
present time a determined effort is being made to effect a more intimate working 
arrangement. 

Agricultural societies are organized on very much the same bases as are the 
cooperative societies; an individual may become a member by subscribing for 
at least one share, par value £1 ($4.86), and making an initial payment of at 
least 5s. ($1.21). No member can hold shares to the value of more than £200 
($973). The profits of the societies, after the payment of necessary expenses 
of operation, are divided as follows : 

(1) Five per cent interest on the paid-up share capital. 

(2) At least half to the reserve fund, until said fund equals the share capi- 
tal, and afterwards such proportion as the annual meeting shall decide. 

(3) Not less than 5 per cent to the employees of the society at the time the 
division takes place as a bonus proportionate to the wages earned by them 
respectively during the period to which the division relates. 

(4) Remainder of the net profits are divided among the members as the 
committee may in their discretion approve. 

It is true that a considerable proportion of the produce controlled by the 
agricultural cooperative societies finds its way to the consumer through the 
distributive society of the cooperative movement, but as yet the retail, and even 
the wholesale cooperative societies are regarded by the agricultural societies 
as merely one or more among their several customers, and they are not treated 
with any more consideration than is the ordinary private trader. It is hoped 
by those closely identified with the propagandist work of both movements that 
a way may eventually be found whereby the products of the agricultural 
societies may be disposed of through the distributive societies by arrangement 
mutually advantageous to both movements. 

AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 

In a report issued in December, 1911, by the agricultural organization the 
principal objects of these societies are stated to be as follows : 

(1) To purchase for their members — 

(a) Manures, seeds, feeding stuffs, implements, etc., on wholesale terms 
from the manufacturers, importers, or wholesale merchants, and a small profit 
being charged to cover management expenses. 

(6) To attempt to secure the purity of feeding stuffs, seeds, and manures, 
the guarantees for which are often misleading or insufficient for the informa- 
tion of the purchaser. Cooperative societies are better able to protect their 
members in their purchases, for even when the proper guarantees are given, 
farmers, as individuals, rarely have analyses made. 

(2) To secure the best market for the sale of produce: 

(a) By organizing the milk supply on a cooperative basis, so that some of the 
profits may be secured for the farmers. 

(&) By establishing cooperative butter and cheese factories in suitable dis- 
tricts. 

(c) By establishing cooperative egg and poultry depots for sorting, grading, 
and packing. 

(d) By grading and packing fruit, in order to place it on the market in a 
fresh and attractive condition. 

(e) By organizing cooperative markets to reduce the cost of disposal, and to 
break down the rings formed against the producer. 

(/) To reduce the cost of transport by bulking consignments and by arrang- 
ing terms with railway companies and carriers. 

(3) To open up remote districts by motor traction. 

In a district where the railway facilities were inadequate the Agricultural 
Organization Society induced the nearest railway company to run a motor 
goods service between one of its stations and the depots of a cooperative society 
formed in the outlying district, the local society acting as agent for the traffic 
at its end of the route. 



38 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

(4) To hire or buy pedigree stallions, bulls, etc., for the use of their members 
at reasonable fees. 

(5) To arrange for all kinds of agricultural insurance. 

The Agricultural and General Cooperative Insurance Society (Ltd.) has 
been formed to enable members of agricultural cooperative societies to secure 
the profits on their own insurance. 

(6) To acquire land and sublet it to members in small holdings or allotments. 

Under the small holdings and allotments act, 1908, local authorities are em- 
powered to let land to associations " so constituted that the division of profits 
among the members is prohibited or restricted. Many societies have been 
formed to take advantage of this provision. 

(7) To establish agricultural credit societies. 

The need of cheap credit for the productive purposes of farmers, small 
cultivators, allotment holders, and the laboring classes generally, is very great. 
Large farmers as a rule can obtain monetary advances, whereas smaller ones 
are often unable to do so. The object of agricultural cooperative credit societies 
(which are registered under the friendly societies act) is to help the smaller 
agriculturists to obtain by combination the advantage of easy credit. 

COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

No special effort is made by the cooperative societies to sell below the ruling 
market prices, as the members realize that it really does not make very much 
difference because whatever profit is realized will come back to them in the form 
of dividends on stock and on purchases. The usual dividend on shares amounts 
to 5 per cent per annum and the average dividend on purchases to 2s. 5|d. 
(59| cents) per pound sterling ($4.86), or 12£ per cent. The latter dividend 
varies, of course, according to the locality, management, etc. In the southern 
part of England the dividend upon purchases ranges from as low as 6d. (12 
cents) per pound sterling ($4.86) to as much as 3s. 6d. (84 cents), and the 
average is about Is. 6d. ($0.36). In the northern part of England the dividends 
range from Is. 6d. (36 cents) per pound sterling ($4.86) to 4s. (96 cents), with 
an average of about 3s. (72 cents) per pound sterling ($4.86). The difference 
in the dividends paid in the north and south of England is accounted for by 
reason of the greater expenses of operation in the south, where purchasers 
very generally require delivery of goods at their homes, while in the north 
practically all of the goods are carried from the stores by the purchasers 
themselves. 

The cooperative societies have disarmed much of the criticism which would 
otherwise have been directed against them because they dispose of their goods 
at retail at the prices, as already stated, for which similar articles are usually 
sold in the same district so that there is no cutting of prices. In a certain 
sense, however, it may be stated that the cooperative stores effect a general 
reduction in the price of provisions apart from dividends declared, which is 
shown by the practice of certain shopkeepers in London advertising that their 
prices are as low as at the stores. It is true that the stores referred to in 
these advertisements are usually the Army and Navy Stores which, although 
not cooperative, are founded upon somewhat similar lines. 

ATTITUDE OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES AND INDEPENDENT RETAILERS AND WHOLE- 
SALERS TO EACH OTHER. 

The attitude of the cooperative societies toward noncooperative stores has 
been described as that of passive resistance by an exponent of the cooperative 
movement, whereas the attitude of independent retailers and wholesalers has 
been one of active antagonism, though to a certain extent it is believed by the 
cooperative societies that that antagonism is diminishing. The opposition of the 
independent retailers and wholesalers has been shown in various ways. The 
boycott was the principal weapon which was originally used "against the move- 
ment, while now the opposition manifests itself through the private traders' 
defense organizations and through chambers of commerce. It is stated that it 
is seldom possible for prominent members of cooperative societies to be admitted 
to membership in chambers of commerce. The antagonism of private traders' 
organizations has found expression at times in demands on the part of the 
executives of these organizations to create discord among those interested in 
the cooperative societies. The unfriendly attitude of some chambers of com- 
merce has taken the form of a protest to Government officials — particularly 
the Treasury Department — in reference to the method of taxing the societies. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 39 

Private joint stock companies are assessed for income tax upon their profits 
before division, whereas cooperative societies are not required to pay income 
tax in this manner. The obvious and usual reply that has been made to this 
objection is that shareholders of joint stock companies whose income does not 
eceed a minimum of £160 ($778) per annum may, through the prescribed 
course, recover the amount of income tax paid by the company in respect of 
the dividend which they received. 

It is stated that perhaps 90 per cent of the shareholders in joint stock com- 
panies would not be able to claim this privilege, whereas perhaps 90 to 95 
per cent of the members of cooperative societies would be able to recover the 
income tax paid by the society if the tax were collected in a similar manner. 

The old style of boycott is continued to a certain extent against cooperative 
societies by manufacturers of proprietary goods, but the result is that through 
the productive societies and with the aid of competent chemists the cooperators 
are enabled to produce goods which are so nearly like the articles produced by 
the private concerns that no real loss is experienced by members of the co- 
operative movement. When it is realized that the total membership of co- 
operative societies in the United Kingdom is 2,661,799 and further when it is 
estimated that this membership represents a total population of 10,000,000, 
practically a quarter of the -total population of the country, it will be seen 
that the cooperative movement is firmly established ,and can not now be up- 
rooted. 

How strongly the proprietors of independent stores oppose the cooperative 
associations is reflected in an article published in the Grocers' Gazette of 
September 2, 1911, in which, after quoting an address at a meeting held under 
the auspices of the northern section of the Amalgamated Union of Cooperative 
Employees in which the speaker claimed that " the cooperative movement was 
nothing better than a joint stock company which was grabbing out of its 
workers huge dividends for its shareholders and consumers," it is remarked, 
" could anything stronger than this in denunciation of the cooperative system 
be said and does it not bear out what we have always contended— that it is the 
making of dividends which has been the chief motive of the movement and 
which, as time has gone on, has been more and more its dominating factor? 
There can be no doubt that by means of big dividends cooperative stores are 
instilling into the minds of the public a desire for gain, and it is this desire, 
fostered as it has been to such an extent that it has become almost an obsession, 
that should, if properly utilized, be turned to the private traders' advantage. 
In the case of the trader he has no dividend to consider, no shareholders to 
satisfy, and, therefore, in times of high prices like the present, if he wisely 
uses his opportunities, he will be able to successfully compete with these stores. 
Private traders should be able to do much in their respective spheres to 
counteract the cooperative movement and they can do this not only by a com- 
parison of the prices ruling at their own as compared with the cooperative 
establishments, but also by making use of such statements as we have quoted 
above. The cooperative movement of to-day has many weak points in its 
armor and not the least is the inconsistency which trades union leaders show 
when called upon to deal with employees of their own. The question arises: 
What will be the position of the assistant if the object for which these stores 
set out, viz, the elimination of the private trader, is achieved? 

" Is it likely that with a diminished demand for his services that his lot 
would be better when we now hear such complaints as are quoted above? 
Such a contingency is extremely unlikely, and therefore the assistant as well 
as the private trader should consider it his duty to expose the cooperative 
fallacy as practiced to-day. We hope that private traders the country over 
will see to it that the public are educated to the view that in supporting the 
cooperative stores they are reaping no pecuniary advantage, but probably the 
reverse, and that it is to their best interests that they should stand by the 
private trader who recognizes his duty to the community and fulfills the ob- 
ligations imposed upon him in local and municipal life." 

It is claimed by the independent dealers that the cooperative societies, in 
their anxiety to pay large dividends, pay minimum wages in many instances 
to their employees. It is stated by the cooperative societies, on the other 
hand, that they pay average wages, but that they do not endeavor to pay any 
higher wages than those prevailing in the locality in which they operate. 

But notwithstanding the intensity and consistency of the opposition there 
is no doubt that the cooperative associations are at this time enjoying the 
most flourishing period of their existence in the United Kingdom. They are 



40 



CGOPEBATTON AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



yearly increasing in membership, in the volume of business transacted, and in 
the amount of dividends paid. 

BELATION OF ENGLISH COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL CO- 
OPERATIVE ALLIANCE. 

The cooperative societies of the United Kingdom are in large numbers mem- 
bers individually of the International Cooperative Alliance, which stands in the 
same relation to the cooperative movements in all countries as the Cooperative 
Union (Ltd.) stands to the individual societies in the United Kingdom. Out- 
side of the United Kingdom, however, membership in the alliance is held only 
by national organizations, which correspond to the Cooperative Union (Ltd.) 
in the United Kingdom. The alliance is wholly a propagandist organization 
and arranges for the triennial congresses of its members. It is supported by 
the payment of annual membership fees. 

COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN LONDON. 

The cooperative movement for 1910 as it relates to metropolitan London may 
be summarized as follows : 



Distributive societies 

Supply associations (not strictly cooperative, but founded 

upon similar lines) 

Special societies » 

Productive societies 



Num- 
ber. 



Mem- 
bers. 



107,016 

83,362 

80 

1,052 



Sales. 



$10,381,666 

9,891,424 

243 

172,843 



Net 
profit. 



$971,125 

231,495 

68 

9,704 



1 The special society indicated is the Norwood Gardeners' Cooperative Society (Ltd.), which is entirely 
special to the class of people served, and is therefore not classified under the usual heading of " Distributive 
societies." 

What is true of the cooperative movement throughout the United Kingdom 
is equally true of the London consular district, though not to the same extent 
as in other portions of the country for reasons which have already been stated. 
The cooperative societies have grown throughout the United Kingdom through 
the infection of example, through the publicity given to them by the annual 
cooperative congresses, the forty-third of which was held in Bradford, England, 
this year, through an increasing spirit of camaraderie and solidarity among 
the working people, and in the past few years — notably the last two years — 
through the increasing cost of living. 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 



In summarizing the causes why the cooperative movement has taken such a 
strong and apparently prominent hold in the United Kingdom I would briefly 
enumerate the benefits claimed for it by its supporters : 

(1) An ultimate decrease in the price of commodities purchased by members 
through the payment of dividends on the amount of said purchases. 

(2) Purity of articles furnished, all forms of adulteration being discouraged 
and discountenanced. 

(3) The magnitude of the business done enables the wholesale societies to 
purchase in very large quantities and thereby at the very lowest prices, and 
especially is this true because the cooperative business is conducted on a cash 
basis. 

(4) A social and moral value is claimed for the cooperative movement in that 
it brings in a given locality the working people into direct relationship with 
each other and causes them thereby to feel not only their independence — but 
their strength. The cooperative movement has received such an impetus in the 
United Kingdom and is now so firmly established and through the affiliation of 
the productive wholesale and retail societies is so interwoven and strengthened 
it may be safely predicted that it will gain in importance as the years pass. 

(5) Discriminating dividends in certain instances in favor of members as 
against purchasers who are not members. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



41 



(6) A disposition to strengthen the membership by a close scrutiny of the 
purchases made by members, and an intimation, if it is thought they are not 
buying as much as they should at the cooperative stores, that their membership 
is not desired. It is usual, however, before attempting to sever the member- 
ship in any way to give ample notice to the member so that he may furnish 
such excuse as he may have, or having none, may increase his purchases. 

Transmitted herewith are several leaflets and pamphlets. It has only been 
possible to obtain triplicate copies of two of them, and therefore single copies 
are sent of the remainder. 

John L. Griffiths, 

Consul General. 
London, England, 

December 20, 1911. 



LIVERPOOL CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

There are no wholesale cooperative societies in the Liverpool con- 
sular district. There is a branch of the Cooperative Wholesale Soci- 
ety of Manchester, but this branch is conducted and operated en- 
tirely from the headquarters at Manchester. There are six retail 
cooperative societies in Liverpool and district, and these are closely 
associated with the wholesale society at Manchester, and from which 
society they purchase the greater portion of their supplies. The 
following statement gives the names of the retail societies referred to 
from 1900 to 1910 : 



Year. 


Members. 


Capital. 


1900 


1,948 


$36, 678 


1904 


2,705 


54,917 


1908 


4 r 426 


116, 785 


1910 


6,432 


195,584 


1900 


351 


4,418 


1904 


496 


10,073 


1908 


570 


12, 321 


1910 


670 


14,969 


1900 


149 


4,141 


1904 


161 


4,598 


1908 


166 


5,021 


1910 


184 


5,338 


1900 


2,653 


42,581 


1904 


4,328 


107,845 


1908 


6,120 


226, 622 


1910 


5,723 


240,862 


1900 


1,596 


21,057 


1904 


2,962 


65,132 


1908 


5,272 


154,817 


1910 


7,317 


215,264 


1900 


738 


14, 453 


1904 


804 


18,594 


1908 


985 


23,937 


1910 


976 


27, 135 


1900 


7,435 


123,331 


1904 


11,456 


261,165 


1908 


17, 589 


539,509 


1910 


21,293 


698, 755 



Trade. 



Birkenhead. 



Employers' Provident (Port Sunlight). 



Bromboro pool . 



Toiteth. 



City of Liverpool. 



Gars ton. 



Totals, Liverpool and Birkenhead District. 



$166, 992 

236,871 

400, 954 

578, 072 

42, 484 

77, 045 

82, 739 

103, 436 

41,363 

38, 080 

38,007 

38, 999 

251,685 

421,569 

628,566 

574,587 

143,809 

277,306 

517,858 

710,333 

45, 520 

67,293 

85,095 

97,441 

691,860 

1,118,170 

1,753,224 

2,015,276 



Cooperation in the Liverpool district is stated by competent authority to be 
nominal as compared with the progress made in the cotton and machinery manu- 
facturing towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire. 

Mills and similar kinds of employment, where large numbers are gathered 
in a service that brings them in continuous contact with each other, are, in the 
opinion of the authority above quoted, stated to be the most prolific ground for 
generating the cooperative spirit and startiDg societies. One of the leading 
wholesale provision dealers in Liverpool states that most of the initial stages 
of a cooperative store have been initiated by those who began by combination 
in buying amongst the few — the first operation was by buying bulk quantities 



42 COOPERATION AND THE COST OE LIVING. 

and dividing at cost and then acting through a committee — then by paid 
managers and assistants. 

As to methods of organization and operation the local societies are controlled 
by management committees, elected by and from the members, each of whom 
has to hold a £1 ($4.8665) fully paid share to enable him or her to vote. 
These committees (similar to boards of directors of joint-stock companies) ap- 
point and instruct the secretary, general, departmental, and branch managers 
in the conduct of the business on behalf of the members. Goods are purchased 
by these officers in the wholesale markets and retailed to the members at the 
current prices of good class firms from the different branches and departments, 
and accounts are made up quarterly or half yearly showing the profits made 
and dividends payable to the members. 

The intermediate means employed for the distribution and delivery of domestic 
supplies are shops in various localities, and the employment of horse-drawn 
vans for delivery of groceries, bread, and milk supplies. For the most part, 
however, the working class carry their own parcels from the store to their 
homes. The wholesale provision dealer already referred to states, " The working 
population would not submit to the terms of sale at the hands of an ordinary 
retail distribution, but they will support their ' co-op ' by doing that share of 
the work " — that is, to a very large extent. 

From the cooperative standpoint the statement is made that the degree to which 
such societies reduce the cost of common necessaries of life to the consumer 
is from 5 to 10 per cent, according to the article purchased and the competition 
in that particular commodity. Those opposed to the cooperative methods, how- 
ever, state " that cooperation does not now generally reduce the cost to the 
consumer. The multiple shopkeeper gives better value to the consumer than 
the average cooperative store, when the dividend from the cooperative society 
(to its purchasing members) has been considered. The answer to-day from the 
cooperative enthusiast is ' We stand for principles as well as for dividends.' " 

The attitude of such societies toward noncooperative stores is officially stated 
to be that of ordinary competition, and that there is no relationship or work- 
ing agreement. One of the largest retailers of groceries and provisions in 
Liverpool states that " the attitude of the ' cooppers,' as they are popularly 
known, is very strong against private enterprise, and private traders are equally 
hostile to them." 

The cooperative view of the attitude of independent wholesalers and retailers 
toward cooperative organizations is that of ordinary business attitude as a 
whole, and will generally sell to cooperative societies without question, par- 
ticularly as the societies can usually pay prompt cash. This latter statement 
is generally confirmed by both wholesaler and retailer. One of the leading 
retail grocery and provision dealers, previously referred to, however* adds : 
" The wholesale trade is distinctly hostile to the cooperative movement, as the 
Cooperative Wholesale Society is gradually manufacturing and producing more 
and more year by year of the goods they deal in, and therefore ousting the 
wholesalers." 

Cheese, milk, and potatoes, and also fruit, are the chief articles bought by 
the local cooperative societies from private producers, i. e., farmers in the 
vicinity, and these goods are frequently purchased without the aid of a broker 
or commission agent, the farmers being sometimes members of the cooperative 
societies. In this connection the wholesaler, previously referred to, states that 
cooperative societies have a larger freedom than they had at the inception of 
the movement in the making of their purchases, and that the managers of such 
societies go on to the markets and buy the same as an ordinary trader — there 
is considerable variety of operation in this direction. 

The local cooperative view of the relationship of cooperative societies is that 
there is no binding relationship between individual retail societies, but they 
are in the main united in a wholesale buying and manufacturing federation 
known as the Cooperative Wholesale Society, in which each retail society is 
federated, holding shares in proportion to its membership. They are also fed- 
erated in the cooperative union for legal, educational, and propaganda purposes. 

The relationship of cooperative societies to independent wholesalers and 
jobbers is described by local cooperative officers to be of an ordinary business 
footing ; that cooperative societies will purchase, as a rule, from any wholesaler 
who can offer them the good article at a fair price, but preference is naturally 
given in many cases to their own wholesale buying and manufacturing federa- 
tion in which their own capital is employed. The noncooperative view is that 
the " cooperative societies now largely buy in the best market. They (retail co- 
operative societies) will give preference to their wholesale society ' on an even 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 43 

keel,' but if the wholesalers can show them an advantage they will accept it. 
There is not the same loyalty in the matter of purchasing from the Central 
Wholesale Society as there was during the initial stages of the movement." 
Appended hereto are the following publications : 

1. Rules of the City of Liverpool Equitable Cooperative Society (Ltd.). 

2. City of Liverpool Equitable Cooperative Society (Ltd.) : How It Was 
Formed; How It Has Grown; etc. 

3. Report and balance sheet, year ended October 10, 1911. 

4. Information for new members. 

Horace Lee Washington, Consul. 
Liverpool, England, December 4, 1911. 



Appendix No. 1. 
Reg. No., 2,538, Lanes., R. 

RULES OF THE CITY OF LIVERPOOL EQUITABLE COOPERATIVE 

SOCIETY (LTD.). 

[Amended December, 1902; March, 1909; February, 1910; and November, 1910.] 

Standing Orders. 

1. That no one be admitted to take part in any meeting except on production 
of his card of membership. 

2. That every member desiring to speak upon any question shall stand up 
and address himself to the chairman ; and should two or more members desire 
to speak at the same time, the chairman shall decide to whom belongs the 
priority of speaking. 

3. That at every meeting all amendments to agenda propositions shall be 
reduced to writing and signed by the mover and seconder, and shall be handed 
to the chairman immediately. 

4. That all questions shall be determined by a show of hands, except the 
election of the committee of management, which shall be by ballot. 

5. That whenever an amendment is moved upon any proposition, no second 
amendment shall be taken into consideration until the first amendment is 
disposed of. 

6. That if the first amendment be carried, it displaces the original question 
and becomes itself the question, whereupon any further amendments may be 
made. 

7. That if a first amendment be negatived, then a second may be moved to 
the original question under consideration. 

8. That the mover of an original resolution, but not of any amendment, shall 
have a right of reply before the question is put to the meeting, but no other 
member shall be allowed to speak more than once on the same question unless 
permission be given to explain, or the attention of the chair be called to a 
point of order. 

9. Should a motion to proceed to the next business be proposed and seconded, 
the chairman shall at once put it to the meeting without further discussion, 
and if carried the subject shall be disposed of for that meeting. 

10. The standing orders may be suspended by a majority of the meeting 
voting for such suspension. 

All previous rules rescinded. 

(a) The rules hereto annexed, entitled "General Rules for an Industrial 
and Provident Society," and numbered 1 to 138, shall be the rules of this 
society, subject to the special rules thereof. 

(b) The rules next following, numbering I to XIV, are the special rules of 
the society, whereto the general rules therein referred to are respectively 
subject, and the interpretation clause thereof applies. 

The Special Rules of the Society. 

I. General rule 3. — The name of the society is the City of Liverpool Equit- 
able Cooperative Society (Ltd.) 

11. General rule 3. — The special objects of the society are to carry on the 
trade of general dealers, both retail and wholesale, and manufacturers of any 
article so dealt in as general meeting may direct or authorize. 



44 COOPERATION AND THE COST OE LIVING. 

III. General rule J^. — The registered office of the society shall be at 162 Walton 
Road, Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster. 

IV. General rule 8. — Bach individual member shall be required to hold one 
share, which shall be withdrawable and not transferable. 

V. General rule 9 \ — The entrance fee of Is. payable under this rule shall be 
credited to the member's share account as an installment paid in respect to the 
share required to be held. 

VI. General rule 30 (clause 4). — The rate of interest agreed to be given not to 
exceed 4£ (£4 3s. 4d.) per cent per annum. 

VII. General rule 31. — The rate of interest not to exceed 3£ (£3 6s. 8d.) per 
cent per annum, and shall not be calculated on less than 5s. 

VIII. General rule 39. — Interest shall not be calculated on any fraction of £1, 
or for any less period than three calendar months (a quarter). 

IX. General rule 55 (3). — Fines not to exceed 2s. per member. 

X. General rule 69. — The business of the monthly meetings shall include 
reading the minutes of the last monthly meeting and reading reports, or a sum- 
mary, from the general and educational committees' minutes. 

XL General rules 85, 86, and 88. — (1) The committee shall consist of the 
president and six committee men. 

(2) Three committee men shall retire at the first and third and two at the 
second and fourth quarterly meetings in each year. 

(3) Nominations for the general and educational committees shall be made 
at the quarterly meeting next previous to that at which the elections take place, 
but a retiring member of the committee shall be immediately reeligible for elec- 
tion without previous nomination. 

(4) No member shall be eligible for committee man who is carrying on the 
same business as the society. 

(5) No committee man, while in office, shall be allowed to nominate or second 
any member to serve on the committee of which he is a member. 

(6) No committee man shall be eligible for, or sit as, a committee man who 
has a relative (the word relative to be defined as meaning blood relations, from 
cousins to nearest relatives) employed in the department in which he has 
control as committee man. 

(7) No member shall [be eligible to] 2 serve on two committees of the society 
at the same time, such committees to include the committee of management, 
the educational committee, and the committee of the women's guild. 

(8) No member shall be eligible to serve on the committee of management 
unless he has been a member of the society for 12 months, and he has had for 
the period of 6 months immediately preceding the election, and continues to 
have during his term of office, not less than five fully paid shares in the society, 
and has purcha-sed goods to the amount of at least £10 during the previous 
half year. 

XII. General rules 85, 101, and 102. — The secretary shall be appointed and 
removed by the committee, who shall fix his duties and remuneration. He shall 
in all respects act under the control and direction of the committee. 

XIII. General rule 127. — Sec. 2. The rate of depreciation on live and rolling 
stock shall be 20 per cent per annum. 3 

Sec 4. A member who has not purchased goods from the society to the value 
of at least £2 during any quarter shall not be entitled to receive any interest on 
his capital for that quarter. 

XIV. Building and mortgage department. — (1) The committee for the time 
being may, subject only to such restrictions and limitations as shall from time 
to time be imposed by resolutions of the members at a quarterly meeting, pur- 
chase or mortgage any land, with or without buildings thereon, and may build 
or erect any houses, cottages, or other buildings, whether for the purposes of 
the society or not, and may dispose of, sell, mortgage, convey, or reconvey, to 
members of the society or other persons, any lands or buildings for the time 
being held by the society, and appropriate to the use of the society any moneys 
received in respect of such lands or buildings ; but no committee man shall vote 
on any question in which his individual interests are specially concerned. 

(2) The committee may, subject to the restrictions and limitations hereinbe- 
fore mentioned, advance any moneys out of the society's funds to members of 
the society on the security of lands or buildings, subject to such scale of repay- 

1 Deleted Nov. 14, 1910. 

2 Words in brackets are deleted, as per amendment of rules Mar. 1, 1909. 

3 Deleted Feb. 7, 1910. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 45 

ment and at such rate of interest as is hereafter mentioned, but no such ad- 
vance shall in any case exceed 80 per cent of the ascertained value of the 
security given ; no advance shall at any time be made upon the security of any 
property that shall be subject to any previous mortgage. 

(3) Any member desirous of receiving an advance from the society shall fill 
up and sign an application form or schedule in such form as the committee shall 
from time to time prescribe, comprising full particulars of the situation, tenure, 
and description of the property proposed to be mortgaged or conveyed to the 
society, and stating the amount required to be borrowed; and such application 
paper or schedule shall, together with such plans, specifications, or other docu- 
ments as shall from time to time be required by the committee, be given to the 
secretary, who shall deliver the same to the surveyor appointed by the com- 
mittee to survey the property, who shall examine the property in case it is 
built, and if not built shall examine the intended site thereof and the plans and 
specifications for the erection thereof, and report thereon to the committee in 
such form as they may prescribe. 

(4) The fees to be paid to the society for the examination and survey of all 
properties offered as security to the society for examining plans and specifica- 
tions and estimating the cost of proposed buildings, for making a ground plan 
thereof, and furnishing the committee with a valuation shall be prepaid by the 
member applying for the advance, and shall be according to the following 
scale, viz: 

£ s. d. 

When the amount of the valuation shall not exceed £100 10 

Exceeding £100 and not exceeding £200 12 

Exceeding £200 and not exceeding £300 15 

Exceeding £300 and not exceeding £500 10 

When the property is situated outside the parliamentary boundary the society 
shall be paid all expenses incurred by the surveyor and such additional fee for 
extra time as the committee may think reasonable. A further charge of 2s. 6d. 
shall also be paid for each subsequent inspection of buildings in course of erec- 
tion and for reporting thereon, or such other sum as the committee may pre- 
scribe. 

(5) All legal and other expenses incurred in the transfer of any property to 
the society as security, either by conveyance or mortgage, shall be paid by the 
member immediately such conveyance or mortgage is made. The scale of 
charges to be ascertained from the secretary. 

(6) If any member of the society before applying for an advance shall be 
desirous of ascertaining what sum the committee are willing to lend upon any 
property, notice shall be given to the secretary in manner before mentioned, 
and the surveyor shall inspect the said property and make his report thereon, 
after which the committee shall make known to the said person the sum they 
will advance thereon, on the conditions herein contained, and the person on 
whose behalf the inspection and valuation has been made shall pay all the 
expenses thereof whether a loan is effected or not. 

(7) In the case of any building in course of erection the member shall be 
entitled to receive a proportionate part of the advance agreed upon when the 
said building shall have been raised to the height of the first floor; a propor- 
tionate part thereof when the building shall have been covered in or fully slated, 
and the remaining portion when the said building shall be completed according 
to the plans and specifications thereof and to the satisfaction and approval of 
the society's surveyor. 

(8) The committee shall have power to make a second advance on the same 
property to any member, provided that at least one-half of the money already 
borrowed shall have been repaid; such advance to be subject to the valuation 
of the society's surveyor. 

(9) Interest shall be charged at such rate as the committee may from time 
to time decide on all sums advanced by the society, and shall be calculated on 
the balance due to the society at the end of each year. 

(10) An account book, in which all deposits, contributions, fines, etc., shall 
be entered, shall be supplied to each member on whose behalf an advance has 
been made, and for which he shall pay a fee of Is. 

(11) All advances shall be repayable by weekly, monthly, or quarterly install- 
ments, as may be arranged, the repayment to commence from the date of the 
advance. The member may pay more than such rate if he choose, and may 
cease to pay until such prepayments are exhausted. 



46 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

(12) Should a member have repaid by contribution 10 per cent of the money 
advanced, he may, in case of distress or inability, be allowed three months' 
exemption from contribution, and a like exemption for every additional 10 
per cent he shall have repaid ; but the sum total of all exemption at any time 
allowed a member shall not exceed three months for each tenth part of the 
money advanced to him. 

(13) In addition to his ordinary repayments, each member shall pay all 
rates and taxes, tithe, ground rent, or other charges to which the property 
on which an advance has been made may be liable, also the sum of sixpence 
in £100 or fraction advanced per quarter for working expenses. 

(14) Any member having neglected to pay the installments due in accordance 
with the provisions of the foregoing rules, and not being entitled to exemption, 
shall be fined for such neglect the sum of sixpence for every pound sterling, or 
part of a pound, due on such installments at the end of a quarter, which fine 
will be enforced and added to such member's account and considered a debt 
due to the society. In the event of any member being in arrears of fines and 
subscriptions equaling together the amount of his subscriptions for 12 months 
the society shall at once take possession of the property. 

(15) In the event of any member failing to comply with any or al4 of the 
agreements entered into between him and the society, the committee shall have 
power to evict such member and take immediate possession of his property and 
dispose of the same by public auction, private contract, or otherwise, as the com- 
mittee may deem advisable, and any cost thereby incurred shall be added to 
the member's account with the society. Should a member be evicted under the 
powers aforesaid and the property taken over does not realize the amount in 
which the said member is indebted, including all interest and fines due to the 
society, the difference between the amount so realized and the amount owing 
shall be a debt due from the said member to the society, recoverable by 
ordinary process of law ; but should the amount realized be more than the 
amount owing, the balance, after deducting the cost of putting the property 
in repair before such disposal as aforesaid, and any other charges that may 
have been incurred, shall be paid to such member without interest within six 
calendar months of his eviction. 

(16) Any member who, under these rules, has acquired an interest in any 
property may, subject to the approval of the committee, assign his interest 
therein to any person not a member who will, on such assignment being exe- 
cuted, pay to the society the balance then due to it, or to any other person being 
a member of the society upon giving to the secretary a written notice of the 
sale signed by himself and such member, and containing an undertaking by 
the assignee to discharge all liabilities to the society due from the assignor; 
and thereupon such assignee shall be substituted into all rights and become 
liable to all claims which subsist or could be made in respect of the property 
assigned between or by the society and the assignor. 

(17) In all cases of transfer or assignment a fee of 2s. 6d. shall be paid by 
the member or person acting on the part of such member by whom the transfer 
or assignment is made, together with any other costs that may be incurred. 

(18) If any member who, under these rules, has acquired an interest in any 
property dies or is declared a lunatic before the repayment of the advance on 
such property is completed, the society shall, on the application in writing of 
the legal personal representative of such deceased member, or of such lunatic 
member, substitute any responsible person named in such application, who shall 
sign an agreement to take upon himself the liabilities of such member toward 
the society in respect of the said property and to exercise, in the place of 
such member, all rights possessed by him in respect thereto. 

(19) When the entire cost of any property (with all interest thereon) has 
been fully paid, the society shall, at the expense of the member, cause an 
indorsement of release to be made upon the deeds as provided by the industrial 
and provident societies act, 1893, section 43. 

(20) The member to whom an advance has been made shall keep the prop- 
erty in proper repair to the satisfaction of the committee, and shall not carry 
on any trade, or make any alteration, therein without having first received the 
permission of the committee in writing; the society to have the right of entry 
for inspection once in each year. 

(21) All property upon which the society has advanced or agreed to advance 
any money under these rules shall be insured in the name of the society. The 
cost of such insurance shall be repaid to the society, at such times as the 
committee may appoint, by the respective borrowers, who, in default thereof, 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 47 

shall be liable for the amount of the insurance as for an equal amount of sub- 
scriptions in arrears. The policy, and all receipts for payment of the annual 
premiums, shall be deposited with the society. 

(22) When any transaction is entered into between the society and any 
person, and the society shall deem it necessary or expedient to grant or accept 
a conveyance, surrender, mortgage, transfer, agreement, bond, or other instru- 
ment for rendering such transaction valid and effectual, the society may enter 
into any such assurance, and it shall be in such form, and contain such clauses, 
conditions, and provisions as the committee may from time to time determine. 

(23) Should a member to whom an advance has been made allow his share 
capital in the society to accumulate while any portion of the advance remains 
unpaid, the committee shall have power to apply such share capital above £20 
toward the repayment of the advance. 

(24) Should a dispute arise between the society and any member to whom 
an advance has been made, it shall be settled by arbitration, as prescribed by 
the society's rule. 

(25) The accounts of this department shall be examined by the auditors of 
the society for the time being, who shall see that all receipts and payments 
are properly entered, and that the accounts are made up and balanced for the 
quarterly meetings of the society at the time when all other accounts are 
made up and balanced, and the result thereof, so far as respects the total, 
shown from quarter to quarter in the society's balance sheet. 

Henry John Beeston, 
John Travis, 
John Sidlow, 

Three Members. 
Frederick Hulse, 

Secretary. 

AcTcnoioledgment of registry of amendment of rules. — The foregoing amend- 
ment of the Rules of the City of Liverpool Equitable Cooperative Society (Ltd.) 
is registered under the industrial and provident societies act, 1893, this 6th day 
of February, 1903. 

E. A. Y. 

Copy kept— E. A. Y. 

PARTIAL AMENDMENT OF RULES. 

Existing Special Rule II, General Rule 3. — The following clause is added to 
this rule, viz : 

" Small holdings and allotments : The objects of this society shall include the 
business of creating, or promoting the creation of, small holdings or allotments, 
and encouraging their proper cultivation, with power to acquire land from 
local authorities acting under the provisions of any act for the time being in 
force relating to small holdings or allotments, or from any other person or body ; 
to adapt any land so required for small holdings or allotments by the erection 
of dwelling houses or other buildings or the execution of any other improve- 
ment; and to let the land to members of the society to be cultivated by them 
as small holdings or allotments. 

Existing Special Rule XI, clause 7, line 1. — The words " be eligible to " are 
struck out. 

Existing Special Rule XIII, general rule 121. — The following clause is added 
to this rule, viz : 

"Small holdings and allotments account: Separate accounts shall be kept 
by the society of all receipts and expenditures of the society under the rule 
relating to ' small holdings and allotments.' The receipts shall be applicable 
for the following purposes, and no other purpose, whether during the existence 
of the society or on dissolution : 

"(1) For payment of the expenses of managing land acquired under the said 
rule, including payment of rent, rates, taxes, and other like outgoings. 

"(2) For payment of expenses of repairs or improvements from time to time 
made by the society on such land. 

"(3) For payment to the general account of the society of interest at the 
rate of £5 per cent per annum on all capital expenditure by the society on the 
acquisition or adaptation of such land. 

"(4) For recouping capital expenditure by the society on improvement or 
adaptation of the land within such period as is reasonable, having regard to 
the probable duration of the improvement or work of adaptation. 



48 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

"(5) For forming a reserve fund not exceeding one year's annual value of 
the land, and so that such reserve fund shall be available for any purpose 
authorized by this rule, but for no other purpose. 

" (6) For prizes for the encouragement of the proper cultivatoin of the land. 

"(7) For creating, or promoting the creation of, small holdings or allotments 
generally." 

"Nothing in this rule shall be deemed to prohibit an arrangement between 
the society and a tenant for the repayment or rebatement of part of the rent 
payable by him to the society, nor shall anything in this rule prejudice or affect 
any right or remedy of any creditor of the society. 

The following new rules are adopted and numbered Special Rules XV, XVI, 
XVII, and XVIII, viz : 

Special Rule XV, general rule 22. — The installments due on the shares re- 
quired to be held may be paid at the rate of not less than 2s. per share per 
quarter. 

Special Rule XVI, general rule 26. — Dividends may be paid to members whose 
shares are not fully paid, provided not less than 2s. is paid each quarter toward 
each share required to be held. 

Special Rule XVII, general rule 73. — A requisition for a special general meet- 
ing shall be signed by not less than 1 per cent of the members of the society at 
the last quarter end. 

Special Rule XVIII, general rule 7 Jf. — Notice convening a special general 
meeting shall be sufficiently given if posted in a conspicuous position in the 
central and other business premises of the society not less than ten clear days 
before the day fixed for the meeting. 

H. J. Beeston, 
Wm. Hy. May, 
A. S. Heath, 

Three Members. 
W. R. Blair, Secretary. 

Acknowledgment of registry of amendment of rules. — The foregoing amend- 
ment of the rules of tbe City of Liverpool Equitable Cooperative Society (Ltd.) 
is registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, 1893, this 25th 
day of March, 1909. 

J. D. S. S. 

Copy kept.— J. D. S. S. 

PARTIAL AMENDMENT OF RULES. 

Special Rule XIII, as amended 1909 (general rule 127). — Strike out the first 

clause (sec. 2) and substitute the following: 

" The depreciation of the property of the society shall be at the following 

rates : 

Per cent per annum. 

Buildings (built to our specifications) 1§ 

Buildings (bought complete) 2£ 

Fixtures 10 

Machinery 10 

Ovens 10 

Coal wagons 10 

Vans, lurries, etc 10 

Horses 20 

William Hy. May, 
Robert J. McLaren, 
G. D. Jones, 

Three Members. 
W. R. Blair, Secretary. 

Acknowledgment of registry of amendment of rules. — The foregoing amend- 
ment of the rules of the City of Liverpool Equitable Cooperative Society (Ltd.) 
is registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies act, 1893, this 23d 
day of March, 1910. 

J. D. S. S. 

Copy kept.— J. D. S. S. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 49 

PAETIAL AMENDMENT OF RULES. 

Special Rule V (general rule 9) is struck out and the following substituted: 
Special Rule V (general rule 9). — The amount to be paid for a copy of the 
rules on application for admission shall be 6d. 

G. D. Jones, 
R. J. McLaren, 
John Sidlow, 

Three Members. 
W. R. Blair, 

Secretary. 

Acknowledgment of registry of amendment of rules. — The foregoing amend- 
ment of the rules of the City of Liverpool Equitable Cooperative Society (Ltd.) 
is registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies act, 1893, this 8th 
day of December, 1910. 

J. D. S. S. 

Copy kept.— J. D. S. S. 

General Rules for an Industrial and Provident Society. 
[Registered under the 56th and 57th Vict, e. 39, with limited liability.] 

Form 3. The copyright of these rules is the property of the Cooperative 
Union (Ltd.), Nicholas Croft, High Street, Manchester. All rights reserved. 

CHAPTER I. GENERAL QUALIFICATION AND INTERPRETATION. 

1. Qualification. — Every rule herein contained shall be subject to qualification 
by any special rule of the society referring to it by its number, and shall 
be deemed to be adopted by the society in so far only as is consistent with such 
qualification. 

2. Interpretation. — In the construction of these rules, including this rule, the 
following words and expressions shall have, respectively, the meanings following, 
unless the subject matter or context are inconsistent therewith : 

(1) Words importing the singular or plural number shall, respectively, include 
the plural and singular numbers; words importing the masculine gender only 
shall include the feminine gender. 

(2) " The act " shall mean the industrial and provident societies act, 1893. 

(3) "The committee" shall mean the committee of management, board of 
directors, or other directing body of a society or company. 

(4) A "company" shall mean (1) any body corporate other than a society; 
(2) any society authorized to sue and be sued by any person authorized to act 
in its behalf ; and " a society " shall mean any society registered under the 
industrial and provident societies act, 1893, or deemed so to be. 

(5) "Lands" shall include tenements and hereditaments. 

(6) "He," "him," and "person" shall include a company or society. 

(7) "Nominal capital" shall mean the amount of the shares allotted for 
the time being, including any which may have been purchased on account of 
the society. 

(8) "The society" shall mean the society named in the special rules. 

(9) "Special members" shall mean the persons by whom the special rules 
are signed, and any other persons whom those rules may declare to be included 
thereunder. 

(10) " The special rules " shall mean the rules prefixed hereto, whereby 
these rules are made rules of any society. 

(11) "The treasury regulations" shall mean the regulations approved by 
the treasury under the act, or any act relating to industrial and provident 
societies for the time being. 

(12) A direction given by the society shall mean a direction given by any of 
the " special rules " of the society, or by any registered rule of the society made 
subsequently; and the words "subject thereto," following any such direction, 
shall mean " unless such a rule is made, and so far as no such rule directs 
otherwise." 

34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 4 



50 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

(13) In Ireland, "bond" shall include a judgment registered as a mortgage 
or a mortgage deed affecting specified lands. 

(14) In Scotland, "letters of administration" and "probate" shall mean 
confirmation. 

CHAPTER II. NAME, OBJECTS, AND PLACE OF BUSINESS. 

3. Name, objects, and powers of the society. — The name and special objects 
of the society shall be those stated in the special rules. The objects of the 
society shall include dealings of any description with land. The society shall 
have full powers to do all things necessary or expedient for the accomplish- 
ment of all objects specified in its rules, including the power to purchase, hold, 
sell, mortgage, rent, lease, or sublease lands of any tenure, and to erect, pull 
down, repair, alter, or otherwise deal with any building thereon. 

4. Registered office; how to be determined. — The registered office of the 
society shall be at such place in the United Kingdom as is mentioned in the 
special rules. It may be changed by a resolution of the committee. 

5. Removal of office to be notified. — Notice of any removal of the office of the 
society shall be sent to the registrar of friendly societies for the place where the 
office is established within 14 days after such change, or such other time as may 
be required by the treasury regulations, and in manner and form thereby pre- 
scribed. 

6. Books of accounts, etc., to be kept at office. — All books of account, securi- 
ties, documents, and papers of the society, other than such (if any) as are di- 
rected by the committee to be kept elsewhere, shall be kept at the registered 
office, in such manner and with such provisions for their security, as the com- 
mittee from time to time direct. 

CHAPTER III. — MEMBERSHIP. 

Sec. 1. — Members. 

7. Who are members. — The society shall consist of the special members, and 
of all such other persons as the special rules direct, or the committee may 
admit. 

8. Shares to be held by members. — Subject to the provisions of the act, each 
individual shall hold at least one transferable share, and each society or com- 
pany 1 for every 100 members thereof. The special members shall be deemed, 
without any special application, to hold such number of shares each of such 
descriptions as an individual member is required to hold. 

9. Payment on application. — Every person shall pay, on applying for admis- 
sion, Is., for which he shall receive a copy of the rules. 

10. Application by a society or company. — Applications for admission by a 
society or company shall be in such of the forms contained in rule 138, as the 
case requires, and shall be for such number of shares, at least, as the rules 
require, and of such descriptions as they permit the applicant to hold. 

11. Application by an individual. — An application by an individual may be 
made either in the form contained in rule 138, or by making such payment as is 
required upon an application for admission, and the signature of a receipt for 
a copy of the rules in the form contained in the said rule, either by the appli- 
cant or on his behalf. 

12. How applications should be dealt with. — Every application for admission 
shall be considered by the committee at its first meeting after it is made, or so 
soon thereafter as is practicable; and if it is approved, the name of the appli- 
cant shall be entered on the list of members and the register of shares herein- 
after mentioned, for the number and description of shares required to be held 
by the rules, or any larger number applied for and allowed to be held thereby, 
upon such approval and such confirmation thereof, if any, as the society may 
direct. 

13. Notice of refusal or admission. — Notice of the refusal of an application, 
or of the entry of the name of any applicant on the list of members, signed by 
the secretary, shall be sent to the applicant, at the address mentioned on the 
form of application or receipt, within one week after such refusal or entry is 
made. 

14. Repayment of the entrance fee. — The sum paid on an application for 
admission shall be repaid on demand to the person by whom or on whose behalf 
it was or purports to have been paid, within one calendar month after the date 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 51 

of the said notice, if the application is refused, or if it is not granted within 
three calendar months after the application. 

15. Appeal and erasure of the names of applicants. — In either of the above 
cases, the person refused admission shall have the same right of appeal as is 
given by rule 21. 

16. How forms to be referred to. — The forms used on an application shall be 
numbered and filed in the office of the society and referred to in the list of 
members. 

17. Admission of married women. — A married woman may be admitted a 
member of the society, and may hold and deal with any share or other interest 
in the society credited to her in England and Ireland as if she were unmarried, 
as is provided in the married women's property act, 1882, and in Scotland, as is 
provided by the married women's property act, 1881 (Scotland). 

18. Admission of minors. — A minor not under the age of 16 years may be ad- 
mitted as a member and execute all instruments and give all acquittances nec- 
essary to be executed or given under the rules, but may not be a member of the 
committee, trustee, manager, or treasurer of the society. (See the act, sec. 32.) 

19. Withdrawal of members and partial cessation of membership. — A person 
all of whose shares have been transferred, withdrawn, repaid, or forfeited 
under the rules, shall cease to be a member, and no member may vote at any 
meeting of the society, either personally or by deputy — 

(1) If he holds less than the number of shares of either description required 
to be taken upon admission. 

(2) If he is in arrear of his subscriptions. 

(3) If the sum standing to his credit on any withdrawable shares is reduced 
by withdrawals below the full amount payable on the number of withdrawable 
shares he may be required to hold. 

Sec. 2. — List of members. 

20. Where to be kept and entries thereon. — The committee shall keep, at the 
registered office of the society, a list of the names, occupations, and addresses 
of all members, open at all convenient times to the inspection of the members 
and persons having an interest in the funds ; and each member shall give notice 
of any change affecting himself, or be subject to such fine not exceeding Is. as 
any ordinary business meeting may fix, provided that it is not retrospective. No 
person whose name does not appear on such list, other than a deputy, shall have 
any right as a member of the society; and the committee shall cause to be 
erased therefrom the names of all such persons as cease to be members under 
these rules. 

21. Claims to be entered on, or removed from, the list. — A person who claims 
to be placed or retained on, or removed from, the list of members, shall apply 
in the first instance to the committee for that purpose, and, if refused, may ap- 
peal to the next ordinary business meeting held after the receipt of notice of 
such refusal, which may make such order on the matter as it thinks fit. 

CHAPTER IV. — CAPITAL. 

Sec 1. — Share capital. 

22. Nominal value. — The capital of the society shall be raised by shares of 
the nominal value of fl, payable as to all shares required to be held at the rate 
of 3d. per week, with a fine of Is. per quarter on nonpayment. 

23. Installments. — Each installment shall be payable at such place, on such 
days, between such hours, and to such persons as the committee from time to 
time fix. 

24. Power to pay in anticipation, — A member may pay the whole or any part 
of an installment in anticipation of the period when it will become due; and if 
he holds more than one share, either transferable or withdrawable, not fully 
paid, may specify to which shares the payment shall be applied; otherwise it 
shall be distributed equally. 

25. Gases of distress. — The committee may remit any fine incurred by non- 
payment of any installment if the nonpayment appears to them to have arisen 
from sickness, distress, want of work, or any other sufficient reason, of which a 
written statement, signed by the defaulting member or some person claiming to 
act on his behalf, has been given to the secretary at the time when the payment 
ought to have been made. 



52 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

26. Application of dividends to pay up shares. — The interest and dividends 
payable (1) upon the share capital held by any member, (2) upon any purchases 
made by him, shall not be paid to him until all shares which he is required to 
hold are fully paid, but shall accumulate and be applied from time to time in 
payment of the sums due on such shares. 

27. Allotment of shares. — The committee shall allot to all members, upon 
their admission, such number of shares, of the descriptions issued by the society 
as they apply for, and shall similarly allot, from time to time, the shares ap- 
plied for by any member, or required to make the nominal value of his shares, 
whether transferable or withdrawable, not less than the capital of the same 
name credited to him, provided that the number of shares so allotted does not 
raise the total investment of any member, except a society, to a sum exceeding 
£200 sterling, or such lesser sum as the society may direct. 

Sec. 2. — Enforcement of debts to society, and forfeiture of shares. 

28. Recovery of sums due under rules, and forfeiture of shares. — All sums 
due from any member, for subscriptions or otherwise, shall be recoverable from 
him, his executors, or administrators, as a debt due to the society. The secre- 
tary shall lay before each ordinary business meeting a return of all such sums, 
and thereupon the meeting may (1) direct the committee to take legal pro- 
ceedings for the recovery thereof; (2) if the sum is due in respect of a share, 
declare such share to be forfeited if any payment thereon has been in arrear for 
three calendar months. 

29. Effect and remission of forfeiture. — Upon a declaration of forfeiture of 
a share, all sums paid or credited thereon shall become the property of the 
society ; but the forfeiture may be remitted if the sum due is paid within one 
calendar mouth from the date of a notice of forfeiture, which shall be sent in 
each case to the registered address of the member within one week after the 
declaration of forfeiture. 

• Sec. 3. — Loans and deposits. 

30. Loans on the security of agreements, bonds, or mortgages; to what amount 
and how may be made. — (1) The committee may obtain advances of money for 
the purposes of the society from time to time from any person, whether a mem- 
ber of the society or not, upon the security of bonds, or agreements, or trans- 
ferable preferential shares by or of the society, or of a mortgage, either legal or 
equitable, of any property thereof. 

(2) The amount so obtained shall not exceed the nominal capital of the 
society without the previous authority of a registered rule of the society. With 
such authority it may be any sum not exceeding the amount so authorized. 

(3) The committee may obtain any such loan on such terms as to the time 
and manner of repayment as it thinks fit. 

(4) The rate of interest agreed to be given on any such advance may be any 
rate not exceeding 6 per cent per annum, or such higher rate as any special 
general meeting may authorize. 

(5) Any bond of the society may be made a specific charge upon any lands 
of the society specified therein, or in any schedule thereto. But a separate reg- 
ister shall be kept of all such bonds. 

(G) Any such bond ©r share may be issued, or agreement or mortgage made, 
as a continuing security to cover any sum not exceeding the limits aforesaid, 
due or to become due upon the account of the society to any person with whom 
it may bank. 

31. Poioer to receive deposits. — The committee may receive from any persons, 
whether members or not, on deposit, withdrawable on such notice, being not 
less than two clear days, as they fix from time to time, any sums, within the 
total limit mentioned in rule 30, not exceeding 10s. in any one payment nor £20 
for any one depositor ; and if the society has any withdrawable capital, no pay- 
ment thereof shall be made while any claim due on account of any such deposit 
is unsatisfied. 

Sec 4. — Investments. 

32. Power to invest surplus capital. — The committee may invest any part of 
the capital of the society as follows: 

(1) In advances to members on the security of real or personal property; 
and 

(2) In or upon any security in which trustees are for the time being author- 
ized by law to invest; and 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 53 

(3) In or upon any mortgage, bond, debenture, debenture stock, corporation 
stock, annuity, rent charge, rent, or other security (not being securities pay- 
able to bearer) authorized by or under any act of Parliament passed or to be 
passed of any local authority as defined by section 34 of the local loans act, 
1875; and 

(4) In the shares or on the security of any other society registered or 
deemed to be registered under the act, or under the building societies acts, or 
of any company registered under the companies acts, or incorporated by act 
of Parliament or by charter : Provided, That no such investment be made in 
the shares of any society or company other than one with limited liability; 
and 

(5) If the society is not chargeable with income tax in pursuance of the 
act, in any savings bank certified under the trustee savings-bank act, 1863, or 
in a post-office savings bank. 

32a. Power to vote in respect to investments. — The society may appoint any 
one or more of its members to vote on its behalf at the meetings of any other 
body corporate in which the society has invested any part of its funds, although 
such member or members may not personally be shareholders in such other 
body corporate. (See the act, sec. 41.) 

Sec. 5. — Repayment of capital. 

33. Repayment compulsory on members. — Subject to the payment of or a 
sufficient provision for all subsisting claims on the society, the committee, 
with the approval of any general meeting, may apply any moneys for which 
they can not find profitable investment in paying off (1) the shares of any 
member who has bought of the society less than any amount fixed by the 
ordinary business meetings in any prescribed time; (2) the excess of shares 
held by those who hold the largest number above those who hold the next 
largest, provided that no member be required to accept less than the full 
sum paid upon each share paid off. 

34. Repayment on the request of members. — Subject as aforesaid, the com- 
mittee may, in the case of any transferable share required to be held by a 
member desirous of withdrawing from the society, on the application of the 
holder of any such share, repay any sum not exceeding the amount then 
credited thereon ; and shall repay the whole sum so credited in any case where 
a member is paid, off under the provisions of rule 33, or where they refuse to 
confirm the transfer of any such share which is fully paid up. 

35. Shares repaid to be extinguished. — All such repayments shall be made on 
resolutions of the committee, which, with the receipts for the money paid, 
shall be entered or referred to on the respective registers of withdrawable or 
transferable shares after mentioned, designating any transferable share by the 
number to be given to it, and thereupon the shares in respect of which such 
payments are made shall be extinguished. 

36. Moneys left with the society after notice of repayment. — If a member 
who has received notice that the committee is prepared to pay him off leave 
the sum to be thus repaid in the hands of the society he shall not be entitled 
to any interest thereon after the expiration of the time named in the notice 
of repayment. 

CHAPTER V. — SHARES. 

Sec. 1. — Shares generally. 

37. Of what description. — The shares of the society shall, subject to rule 54, 
be either transferable or withdrawable, as is expressed in each case. 

38. Where two or more joint holders. — Shares may be held by two or more 
individuals jointly, either of whom may give a valid receipt for any interest 
or dividend payable thereon ; and all notices relating to any such shares given 
to such one as they jointly direct, and in default of any direction to the one 
whose name stands first in the books of the society, shall be sufficiently given. 

39. Limit to interest. — Interest shall not be calculated on or for any frac- 
tion of £1, or of a calendar month. 

40. Lien of society on shares. — The society shall have a lien on the shares 
of any member for any debt due to it by him other than under rule 55 (4) 
for any subscription repaid, and may set off any sum credited to the member 
thereon in or toward the payment of such debt. 



54 COOPEBATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

Sec. 2. — Transferable shares. 

41. How to be allotted. — All transferable shares allotted by the society shall 
be numbered continuously, and all such as are not taken to be held by the 
special members shall be allotted to the original holders thereof by the com- 
mittee in the order of the numbers; and all such as are taken to be so held 
shall be entered in the share register after mentioned, under the names of such 
members, in alphabetical order, by the order of the numbers, beginning with one. 

42. Share register. — The committee shall keep a share register, in which, 
under the number of each share, shall be entered the name of each member to 
whom it was originally allotted, or under whose name it is entered, and if the 
share is canceled, as is hereinbefore provided, the date of such canceling. 

43. Share ledger. — The committee shall keep, as part of the share register, a 
ledger, containing, in separate columns, under the name of each member, the 
numbers of the shares originally allotted to, or entered in the name of, or subse- 
quently acquired by, such member, with the dates of such allotments, entries, 
and transfers, respectively, and a reference to the pages containing the names 
of the transferors ; the number of all shares transferred, with the date of such 
transfers, respectively; a reference to the pages containing the names of the 
transferees ; and such particulars of the amounts paid upon such shares as the 
committee direct. 

44. Forms of transfer. — Transfers shall be in one of the forms hereinafter 
contained, or as near thereto as the case allows ; they shall be numbered con- 
tinuously and shall state the number of each share transferred, and shall be 
executed by the transferor and transferee, and kept in the office of the society, 
and entered under their numbers in a register of transfers, with such other 
particulars as the committee direct; and the number of each transfer shall be 
entered in the share ledger, under the name of the transferor and the transferee. 

45. Registration of transfers. — No transfer shall be registered unless it is 
properly stamped, nor if made by a member indebted to the society, without 
special order of the committee; and until the transfer of a share is registered 
no- right shall be acquired against the society by the transferee, nor shall any 
claim of the society upon the transferor be affected. 

46. To whom transfers may be made. — Any share may be transferred, with 
the approval of the committee, to any other member at the option of the trans- 
feror ; but if the transferee is not a member he must be approved of as a mem- 
ber by the committee or the committee and a general meeting, according to the 
provisions of the rules relating to the admission of members, before the transfer 
can be registered; and if the rules require a member to hold more than one 
transferable share, the transferee must acquire by the transfer or by the trans- 
fer and allotment the number so required to be held before the transfer can be 
registered. 

47. Fee on transfers. — Upon the transfer of any share there shall be paid a 
fee of 6d. 

48. Shares held in trust. — No entry of any trust shall be made upon the share 
register, except in the case of shares held by trustees for any company, in 
which case no transfer shall be registered except on a resolution of the com- 
mittee of such company, which shall be filed with the transfer. 

49. Payment of stamp duty by the society. — The committee may pay the 
stamp duty upon the transfer of any share which a member is required to hold, 
made for the purpose of enabling him to withdraw from the society. 

50. Preferential shares. — All shares to which any preferential right or claim 
is attached shall be transferable only. 

51. Sale of shares to pay debts. — The committee may, in default of payment 
by any member indebted to the society in any manner contrary to its rules, to 
an amount not less than three-fourths of the sum paid up for the time being on 
any transferable share held by him, sell and transfer in the books of the society 
such share to any person entitled to hold the same under the rules, for the 
best price obtainable therefor, and apply the proceeds in or toward the dis- 
charge of the debt so due, and any expenses incurred in or about the same, 
paying over the balance thereof, if any, to the member, without being responsi- 
ble for any loss occasioned thereby. And any transfer so made shall extin- 
guish all right of such member in the share so transferred and shall operate as 
an original issue thereof, subject to the credit to be given to the purchaser for 
all payments previously made thereon. 

52. Limit to amount expended on repayments. — The amount expended in the 
repayment of any transferable shares shall not exceed any sum placed at the 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 55 

disposal of the committee for that purpose from time to time by the general 
meeting of the society, and shall be regularly stated in the accounts of the 
society. 

53. Payments on account of shares. — Payments made on account of shares by 
a member who holds any transferable share not fully paid shall be carried to 
the account thereof and distributed equally among such shares, if more than 
one. 

Sec. 3. — Withdrawable shares. 

54. When may be allotted. — Withdrawable shares shall be allotted as the 
committee fix. 

55. Conditions of withdrawal. — Such shares and the sums credited thereon 
shall be withdrawable on the following notice : Any sum up to £2, one week ; 
above £2 up to £5, two weeks; above £5 up to £10, three weeks, and an addi- 
tional week's notice for each additional sum of £5 or fraction thereof, subject 
to the regulations following:* 

(1) On the withdrawal of any sum such number of shares as corresponds to 
that sum, excluding fractions of a share, shall be deemed to be withdrawn. 

(2) All withdrawals shall be paid in the order of the applications therefor. 

(3) Where any such share is required to be held — 1, no continuing member 
shall reduce the sum credited thereon except by the consent of the committee; 
2, a withdrawing member shall be paid the sum so credited, with all arrears of 
interest, if any, within six calendar months after receipt of the notice of with- 
drawal, subject to clauses (6) and (7) and to any fine which the society may 
direct. 

(4) Sums withdrawn on a share required to be held shall be a debt payable 
and enforceable by forfeiture in like manner as subscriptions on that share. 

(5) The committee may waive the ordinary notice and remit any fine for any 
time not over six calendar months. 

(6) Not more than one-tenth of the withdrawable capital paid up on the 1st 
of January in each year, including all sums under notice of withdrawal at its 
commencement, shall be withdrawable during the year except by consent of the 
committee. 

(7) The right of withdrawal may be suspended by the resolution of the com- 
mittee for any time thereby fixed in all cases where the passing of such resolu- 
tion preceded the application for withdrawal ; but such resolution shall in all 
cases be subject to confirmation by the next general meeting, whether special 
or ordinary, and if not confirmed, the suspension shall cease. 

(8) If the society should go into liquidation, and the assets left, after paying 
all trade debts, loans, and deposits in full, are insufficient to repay the with- 
drawable share capital, there shall be deducted from the respective accounts of 
the members per share of each such share required to be held the amount pay- 
able thereon, or so much thereof as is needed to meet the deficiency. 

56. Share register and ledger account of shares. — Withdrawable shares shall 
not be numbered, but the committee shall keep a share register showing the 
amount of withdrawable share capital existing from time to time, and contain- 
ing a ledger account under the name of each member, showing the number of 
shares held by and all sums due, paid, or withdrawn by or credited to him on 
their account. 

57. Form of withdrawals. — Applications for withdrawal shall be made and 
paid as the committee direct. 

Sec. 4. — Transmission of interest. 

58. Nomination book — 

(1) Any member, not being under the age of 16 years, may, by a writing 
under his hand, delivered at or sent to the registered office of the society 
during his lifetime or made in any book kept thereat, nominate any person or 
persons other than an officer or servant of the society (unless such officer or 
servant is the husband, wife, father, mother, child, brother, sister, nephew, or 
niece of the nominator) to or among whom his property in the society, whether 
in shares, loans, or deposits, or so much thereof as is specified in such nomina- 
tion, if the nomination does not comprise the whole, shall be transferred at his 
decease, provided the amount credited to him in the books of the society does 
not then exceed £100. 

(2) A nomination so made may be revoked or varied by any similar document 
under the hand of the nominator, delivered, sent, or made as aforesaid, but shall 
not be revocable or variable by the will of the nominator or any codicil thereto. 



56 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF UVING. 

(3) The society shall keep a book wherein the names of all persons so nomi- 
nated and of all revocations or variations, if any, of such nominations shall be 
regularly entered. 

59. Notice of the right to nominate. — A notice of the right of nomination shall 
be sent to every individual member who has not exercised this right, with the 
report of the first ordinary business meeting in each year, of which a report is 
circulated among the members, and shall be otherwise given as such meetings 
may direct. 

60. Fee on nomination or revocation. — A member shall pay for the entry of 
every nomination or revocation, whether or not accompanied by a fresh nomi 
nation, 3d. ; and one fee only shall be charged for the entry of all the names in 
any nomination or revocation paper, if more than one. 

61. Proceedings in case of death or insanity; proceeding on the death of a 
member: (1) On receiving satisfactory proof of the death of a nominator the 
committee of the society shall either transfer the property comprised in the 
nomination in manner directed by it or pay to every person entitled thereunder 
the full value of the property given to him unless the shares comprised therein, 
if transferred as directed by the nominator, would raise the share capital of 
any nominee to a sum exceeding £200, in which case they shall pay him the 
value of such shares. 

(2) If the total property of the nominator in the society at his death exceeds 
£80 the committee shall, before making any payment, require production of a 
duly stamped receipt for the succession or legacy duty payable thereon, or a 
letter or certificate stating that no such duty is payable from the commissioners 
of inland revenue, who shall give such receipt, letter, or certificate on payment 
of the duty or satisfactory proof of no duty being payable, as the case may be. 

(3) If any member entitled to property therein in respect of shares, loans, or 
deposits, not exceeding in the whole at his death £100, dies intestate, without 
having made any nomination thereof then subsisting, the committee may, with- 
out letters of administration, distribute the same among such persons as appear 
to "them, on such evidence as they deem satisfactory, to be entitled by law 
to receive the same, subject, if such property exceeds £80, to the obtaining from 
the commissioners of inland revenue a receipt for the succession or legacy duty 
payable thereon, or a letter or certificate stating that no such duty is payable. 

(4) If any such member is illegitimate, and leaves no widow, widower, or 
issue, the committee shall deal with his property in the society as the treasury 
shall direct. 

(5) Upon the death of any member who has an interest in the society exceed- 
ing £100, or transmitted by his will, and a notice in writing given by his exec- 
utor or administrator to the secretary of the society, stating the death of such 
member, and the Christian name, surname, profession, or business of such legal 
representative, and specifying the nature and amount of his interest or claim; 
and the production, if the case requires, of the probate of the will of, or letters 
of administration to, such member, and if such evidence, if any, of his death 
as may be required by the committee, the committee shall either transfer the 
shares or other interest of the member specified in such notice in the books of 
the society to his legal representative or shall pay to him the sum which repre- 
sents the full value thereof, and may make such transfer or payment at their 
discretion, unless the transfer would increase the interest of the transferee in 
the society to more than £200, in which case they shall make the payment in 
money. 

(6) Insane or lunatic member. — If a member becomes insane and no com- 
mittee of his estate or trustee of his property has been duly appointed, the com- 
mittee may, when it is proved to their satisfaction that it is just and expedient 
so to do, pay the amount of his property in the society, not exceeding £100, to 
any person whom they shall judge proper to receive the same on his behalf. 

62. Extinction of transferable shares. — If any share paid out under Rule 61 
is a transferable share an entry of the payment shall be made on the register 
of transfers, in manner hereinbefore provided, on the repayment of a transfer- 
able share, and thereupon such share shall be extinguished. 

63. Shares nominated to be always transferable. — Shares comprised in any 
nomination shall be transferable to the nominee without ceasing to be with- 
drawable in consequence of such transfer, and the like provision shall apply to 
shares transferred under any will or administration. (See the act, sec. 25.) 

64. Transfer to make membership. — Every nominee or other person to whom 
any share is transferred under this section shall thereby become a member of 
the society if not previously a member. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 57 

65. Bankruptcy of a member. — The provisions of Rule 61 as to the executor 
or administrator of a deceased member shall apply, with the requisite varia- 
tions to the trustee or (in Ireland) assignee in bankruptcy of a bankrupt 
member. 

66. Joint holders of shares. — On the decease of a joint holder of any share, 
it shall be transferred into the name of the survivor on his application. 

CHAPTER VI. GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION. 

Section 1. — General meetings. 

67. Ordinary and special meetings. — Meetings of the members shall be either 
general, which include (1) ordinary business meetings; (2) special general 
meetings; or monthly. 

68. Ordinary business meetings. — The first ordinary business meeting of the 
society after it is established shall be held at such time as the special members 
fix, and the subsequent meetings in each third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth month 
after the first meeting, on such days and hours as are fixed by the resolutions 
of any such meetings from time to time, and so far as no such resolution extends 
by the committee. 

69 Monthly meetings. — Monthly meetings shall be held as the ordinary busi- 
ness meetings direct, and shall have such functions as is so directed and so far 
as no such direction extends the following functions : 

(1) To confirm or not the election of members and the transfer of shares, if 
the special rules require such elections or transfers to be confirmed by a general 
meeting. 

(2) To discuss the affairs of the society. 

(3) To explain the principles and rules of the society. 

(4) To make suggestions for the consideration of the committee. 

(5) To recommend the names of persons suitable for election as officers of 
the society. 

70. Functions of ordinary business meetings. — The functions of ordinary 
business meetings shall be: 

(1) To receive from the committee, auditors, or any other officers of the 
society, reports upon the business of the society during the period embraced 
therein and the state of its affairs at the date thereof, which, except any such 
meeting directs otherwise, shall be made to every such meeting. 

(2) To elect the t committee, auditors, and other officers of the society, ex- 
cepting those whose' appointment is given by the rules to the committee. 

(3) To transact any other general business of the society. 

71. Time and place of holding such meetings. — Any ordinary business meet- 
ing may fix, from time to time, its place of meeting, which, where no other 
place is so fixed, shall be the registered office of the society. 

72. Notice of time and place of meeting. — Such notice shall be given of the 
time and place of the first ordinary business meeting as the special members 
direct and, subsequently, notice of the time of every ordinary business meeting 
and of the place where it is to be held, if it be other than the registered office 
of the society, and in case the meeting has to elect any officer of the society 
of what officers are to be then elected, shall be given by fixing such notice con- 
spicuously in the registered office and every place of business of the society 
for 14 clear days before the day of the meeting, and otherwise as such meetings 
may direct. 

73. Special general meetings. — Special general meetings shall be convened by 
the secretary, either on an order of the committee or upon a requisition signed 
by 20 members, and shall be held as soon as is possible after the receipt of 
such order or requisition and at the ordinary place and time of the business 
meetings of the society, unless any ordinary business meeting fixes any other 
place of meeting. 

74. Notice of special general meetings. — Notices convening a special general 
meeting shall state the time and place thereof, and the purpose for which it is 
convened, and shall be posted to the registered address of all the members not 
less than six clear days before the day of meeting, unless in any case of em- 
ergency where the committee unanimously direct a shorter notice to be given. 

75. Where members may give notice. — If the secretary does not convene a 
special general meeting in manner required hereby, for seven clear days after 



58 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

a requisition therefor signed as hereinbefore is provided has been delivered at 
the office of the society, any of the requisitionists may give such notice of the 
meeting as is provided by rule 74, and shall have a claim upon the society for 
all costs (if any) properly incurred in giving such notice. 

76. Business of special general meetings. — A special general meeting can not 
transact any business not specified in the notice convening it, nor unless the 
notice convening it has been given according to the rules. But an ordinary 
business meeting may be made special for any purpose of which notice has been 
so given, provided that such business is not brought on until the ordinary busi- 
ness is concluded. 

77. Quorum of general meetings. — An ordinary business or special general 
meeting may proceed to business if 10 members are present within an hour 
after the time fixed for the meeting, otherwise the meeting, if a special general 
meeting convened on the requisition of the members, shall be dissolved, but if 
an ordinary business meeting or a special meeting convened by order of the 
committee, shall stand adjourned to the week following, at the same time, and 
shall be held at the principal place of business of the society, unless any resolu- 
tion of an ordinary business meeting directs otherwise, in which case it shall 
stand adjourned to such place as is so directed ; and the meeting so adjourned 
may proceed to business whatever is the number of members present. No 
meeting shall become incompetent to transact business from the want of a 
quorum arising after the chair has been taken. 

78. Poiver of adjournment. — Any general meeting, duly constituted, may ad- 
journ to such place as the members present direct, within 30 days, and may 
continue any such adjournment from time to time. No business shall be 
brought on at any adjourned meeting which could not have been transacted at 
the original meeting; and the same notice shall be given at any meeting ad- 
journed for more than 14 days, as was required for the original meeting. 

79. Quorum of monthly meeting. — A monthly meeting shall be dissolved if 
such number of members are not present within such time after the hour of 
meeting as the meeting appointiug them fixes, and subject thereto if 10 mem- 
bers are not present within 15 minutes. 

80. Chairman of meetings. — Every meeting shall have a chairman, who shall 
not vote unless the votes are equal, when he shall have a casting vote, and who, 
in the absence of the president of the society, shall be any member of the 
committee willing to preside, and in the absence of any such member such 
person as the meeting selects. 

81. Votes of (1) individuals, (2) societies or companies. — (1) Each indi- 
vidual member present who holds such number of shares as an individual is 
required to apply for and is credited in the books of the society with a sum 
equal to one share, and is not disqualified by rule 19 ; and such one of the joint 
holders of the like number of shares credited with the like sum and not so dis- 
qualified as they appoint in writing shall have one vote. Proxies shall be ad- 
mitted only as the society may direct, and under the conditions so stated. (2) 
A society or company which holds such number of shares as it is required to 
apply for on admission, and is not in arrear of the subscriptions due thereon, 
may vote by deputy, and may appoint one deputy, and each deputy shall have 
one vote. 

82. How votes shall oe taken. — Votes shall be first taken by a show of hands, 
unless a ballot on any question is demanded by five members present, when they 
shall be taken by ballot as the committee fix. Subject to any special direction 
contained in any rule of the society or act of Parliament, all questions shall be 
determined by a majority of votes. 

83. Appointment and poioers of deputies. — A deputy shall be appointed by a 
resolution signed by the secretary and two members of the committee thereof 
and sent to the secretary of this society. He shall be taken to be a member of 
this society on behalf of such society or company, and shall be included in the 
number of members required to constitute a meeting; and shall be competent 
during the continuance of his appointment to do any act consistent therewith 
which could be done by an individual member ; and the appointment of a deputy 
shall be taken to continue until notice of the appointment of some other deputy 
in his stead is so given as above stated. 

84. Conduct of memoers. — The committee, if they find it requisite, may pass 
resolutions for regulating the conduct of members at meetings, or the time after 
which divisions shall not be taken ; which shall be binding on all the members, 
subject to any resolution of the ordinary business meetings thereon. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 59 

Sec. 2. — Committee of management. » 

85. How committee to he formed. — The business of the society shall be con- 
ducted by a committee of management which, until the first ordinary business 
meeting is held, shall consist of the special members, and after such meeting 
shall consist of the president, treasurer, secretary, and eight commmitteemen 
elected at such meeting. 

86. Retirement and ineligibility of committeemen. — (1) At each ordinary 
business meeting such number of the existing committeemen as the society 
may direct, and subject thereto one-fourth part shall retire and an equal num- 
ber shall be elected ; the order of retirement being fixed so far as is practicable 
by priority of election, but if necessary by ballot. A retiring committeeman 
shall be immediately reeligible. 

(2) If a vacancy caused by the retirement of any committeeman is not filled 
up by the meeting by which it ought to have been filled under the rules the 
retiring member may continue to act until the next ordinary business meeting. 

87. Removal of members of committee. — A committeeman may be removed 
from office at any time by two-thirds of the members present and voting at a 
special general meeting, which may thereupon proceed to fill up his place by a 
vote of the majority of the members present and voting. 

88. Qualification of a committee man. — No person can be a committee man 
who is not a member ; and a person who holds any place of profit under the 
society other than an office remunerated in manner provided by rule 105, shall 
be disqualified from being a committee man ; and any person who accepts such 
a place, or becomes bankrupt, or is concerned in the profits of any contract 
made with the society, except as a member of any society or company which 
contracts with or does any work for it, shall thereupon vacate his office. 

S9. Vacancies ; how to be filled up. — A vacancy in the number of committee 
men arising from any such disqualification as aforesaid, or the removal of any 
committee man whose place is not filled up by the meeting by which he is 
removed, or the death, resignation, incapacity for acting, or refusal to act, of 
any committee man, shall be filled up with some qualified person (1) if it arises 
in the interval between two ordinary business meetings, by the remaining mem- 
bers of the committee, or if not so filled, by the next meeting; (2) if it arises 
at any such meeting, by the meeting, and in the last case any committee man 
who may resign shall be immediately reeligible. Every person so appointed 
or elected by the meeting to fill any vacancy shall be substituted for the member 
who has caused the vacancy and shall retire from office at the time when such 
member would have retired. 

90. General powers of the committee. — The committee shall control all busi- 
ness carried on by or on account of the society, receive and give receipts for 
all moneys due to it, determine all purchases or sales, and the prices to be 
paid or charged for the same, and make all contracts entered into by or on 
behalf of the society for any of the objects for which it is formed, including 
all purchases and contracts relating to land, excepting such (if any) as the 
society may direct to be subject to the approval or authorization of a general 
meeting, and if the society has any land, building, or mortgage rules subject 
to these; and all such contracts shall be signed and attested as they direct 
from time to time. They may from time to time engage, remove, or discharge 
all managers, salesmen, or employees of any description required to conduct 
any such business and fix their duties, salaries, or other remuneration at such 
rates and require them to give such security either in the form hereinafter con- 
tained or in such other forms approved of by them, as they determine. They 
shall decide on the evidence to be produced for establishing the claim of any 
nominee, executor, administrator, or official trustee to any share in the society; 
and may institute, prosecute, compromise, or refer to arbitration any suit, debt, 
liability, or claim against, by, to, or on the society; and in any case for which 
the rules of the society do not expressly provide may exercise any power which 
could be exercised by the society in general meeting other than such as by the 
law for the time being relating to industrial and provident societies may be 
required to be exercised by such meetings, and so that in the exercise of any 
such power they do nothing inconsistent with the previous resolutions of such 
meetings. And all acts or orders done or given by the committee in the name 
and on behalf of the society under any power hereby given them shall bind 
the society and every member thereof as fully as if they had been acts or 
orders of a majority of the members of the society at a general meeting thereof 
acting in exercise of the powers given them by the rules. 



60 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

91. The committee to summon meetings, provide books, etc. — It shall be the 
duty of the committee, under such penalties, if any, as the society may direct: 

(1) To convene all meetings of the society according to the rules thereof, 
subject to the provisions hereinbefore contained as to special general meetings. 

(2) To provide proper books for entering the accounts of all business carried 
on on behalf of the society, and the minutes of all meetings thereof, and of their 
own proceedings, and for making all such entries as are hereby required or as 
any general meeting may direct. 

(3) To provide such forms as are necessary in consequence of the provisions 
of the rules and for the same being kept, made up, or used in such manner as 
in their discretion they think desirable. 

(4) To provide a sufficient supply of copies of the annual returns and books 
of rules to comply with the directions of Rule 123. 

92. The committee to lay statement of accounts and report before the general 
meetings. — The committee shall prepare a statement of the accounts of the 
society in such form as the ordinary business meetings direct from time to time 
and lay them, duly audited by the persons appointed to audit the same, before 
each ordinary business meeting, unless such meetings direct otherwise, and in 
that case before such meetings as they may direct, accompanied by a report on 
the position of the affairs of the society, signed by the chairman of the meeting 
at which such report is adopted. 

93. Time, place of meeting, and quorum of the committee. — The committee 
shall meet at such times and places as the ordinary business meetings direct 
and, so far as no such direction extends, at such times and place as they 
determine, but shall not proceed to business unless three members are present. 
No member of the committee shall vote on a question in which he is personally 
interested. 

94. Fines for nonattendance. — The ordinary business meetings may impose 
fines on any member of the committee for nonattendace, provided that no such 
fine is retrospective. 

95. Chairman of the committee. — Every meeting of the committee shall have 
a chairman, who shall be the president of the society if present, and in his 
absence such one of the members of the committee as they appoint. The 
majority of votes shall decide, but the chairman shall have a second casting 
vote. 

96. Special meetings of the committee. — A special meeting of the committee 
may be called by a notice in writing given to the secretary by two members 
one clear day before such time. The secretary shall communicate every such 
notice to all members of the committee as soon as possible after the receipt 
thereof, and no other business shall be done at the meeting than the business 
named therein. 

97. Appointment of subcommittees. — The committee may delegate any of the 
powers hereby given to them to a subcommittee of its own members, who shall, 
in the functions intrusted to them, conform in all respects to the instructions 
given them by the committee. 

Sec. 3. — Local committees. 

98. Provision for their appointment. — Any ordinary business meeting may 
provide for the appointment of a local committee for any purpose which appears 
to it likely to promote any object of the society and may assign for the action 
of any such committee any district which it thinks fit. 

99. Mode of appointment. A local committee shall consist of such number of 
members appointed in such way, either by nomination of the committee or 
election of the members whether generally or under any local limitation, as the 
meeting authorizing its appointment directs. 

100. Functions of the local committees. — A local committee shall be governed 
by the provisions following: 

(1) A local committee shall at the first meeting after its appointment, and 
afterwards at the first meeting in each year from that date, elect a chairman 
and a secretary, each of whom shall continue in office for 12 months if they 
continue on such committee, and shall be ineligible, and shall fill up vacancies 
in either office as they may arise. 

(2) The secretary of a local committee shall convene all meetings thereof 
and keep a record of the attendances of the members, and the resolutions come 
to and shall return to the committee the names and addresses of any members 
not appointed by the committee as soon as possible after their appointment. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 61 

(3) A local committee shall discharge any local work which the committee 
may require it to undertake and shall be specially charged with the duty — ■ 

(a) Of visiting any branch belonging to the society in the district assigned 
to it. 

(6) Of advising with the manager thereof on any matter in their judgment 
tending to the improvement of the management or the increase of its sales. 

(c) Of bringing before the committee anything relating to the quality or 
price of the goods, or the conduct of the business at any such branch, which 
appears to it to be faulty. 

(4) A local committee may be employed to take the stock of any such branch. 

(5) A local committee shall have the management of all meetings of mem- 
bers within the district assigned to it, and shall have the primary duty of seek- 
ing to add new -members, and inducing the members to support the society, and 
thus keeping up and developing the principles and benefits of cooperation. 

(6) No local committee shall have authority to pledge the credit of the 
society, or involve it in any expense, except in virtue of a written order signed 
by the secretary of the society, and to the extent therein expressed. 

Sec. 4. — Officers of the society. 

101. Appointment of president, treasurer, and secretary. — There shall be a 
secretary and treasurer of the society, and a presiding officer with the title of 
president ; and the following regulations shall apply to each of the officers afore- 
said : 

(1) He shall be elected at the first ordinary business meeting of the society 
after it is registered, and subsequently at the first ordinary business meeting 
in each year. 

(2) He must be a member of the society, and shall be disqualified from office 
by the same circumstances which are disqualifications for a committee man, 
and shall be removable from office by such a majority as can remove a com- 
mittee man. 

(3) He shall be reeligible, and if no successor is appointed on the termina- 
tion of his office shall continue in office until the next regular period of election. 

(4) A vacancy in his office shall be filled up at the next ordinary business 
meeting after it occurs, and if not then filled up by the members may be filled 
up by the committee. 

(5) The person appointed to fill up a vacancy shall continue in office only till 
the regular time of election, subject to provision (3). 

102. Duties of these officers. — The duties of the officers appointed under rule 
101 shall respectively be as follows : 

(1) The president or presiding officer, by whatever title he is called (a) shall 
take the chair, if present, at all meetings of the society or the committee. 

(o) He shall sign the reports to be laid before the meetings of the society, 
which shall be previously submitted to and approved of by the committee. 

(2) The treasurer (a) shall supervise the accounts and payments of the so- 
ciety, which shall be entered in the books thereof as he from time to time di- 
rects, subject to the orders of the committee. 

(6) He shall lay before the committee, at such times as they direct, and, in 
default of any other direction, at the first meeting in every month, a statement 
of the business of the society, showing such particulars as the committee require. 

(c) He shall discharge other functions relating to the receipts or payments 
of the society which the committee may direct. 

(d) Any general meeting may substitute the bankers of the society in place 
of the treasurer, in which case any duties hereby assigned to the treasurer may 
be discharged in such manner as the meeting directs, and the election of an 
officer as treasurer shall cease to be made; but the meeting may substitute an 
additional committee man and fix the time of his retirement. 

(3) The secretary (a) shall summon and attend all meetings of the society 
and of the committee, and of any subcommittee, if so required by the com- 
mittee, and shall keep minutes thereof in such manner as the committee direct. 

(&) He shall make such returns relating to the business of the society as the 
committee require. 

(c) He shall have charge of the documents and other papers of the society, 
and, if required by the committee, shall keep the accounts in such manner as 
they direct. 

(d) He shall keep all the books relating to shares, loans, or deposits required 
to be kept under the rules of the society, and the list of members, and shall 



62 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

receive all contributions, fines, and other payments due from the members to 
the society, and keep the accounts thereof, and pay over the amount so received 
as the committee directs. 

(e) He shall prepare and send all returns required to be made to the reg- 
istrar. 

(/) He shall in all things act in the discharge of his duties under the direc- 
tion and control of the committee. 

(4) Generally. — It shall be the duty of every officer of the society having the 
receipt or charge of any moneys thereof, his executors or administrators, at 
such time as the society may direct, and subject thereto as the committee re- 
quire, or upon demand made, or notice in writing given or left at his last or 
usual place of residence, to give in his account, as may be required by the so- 
ciety or the committee, to be examined and allowed or disallowed by them, and 
on the like demand or notice to pay over all moneys, and deliver all property 
for the time being in his hands or custody to such person as the society or the 
committee appoint. (See the act, sec. 48.) 

103. Officers appointed by the committee. — If the society directs that any offi- 
cer to whom the provisions of rule 102 apply shall be appointed by the com- 
mittee, the committee may from time to time determine the duties of the officer 
so appointed by them; but, subject to any such determination, his duties shall 
be as is therein defined. 

104. Assistants to secretary. — The committee may from time to time appoint 
such clerks or other assistants as may be required to aid the secretary, whether 
he is elected by the society or appointed by the committee. 

105. Remuneration of officers. — The ordinary business meetings shall from 
time to time determine the remuneration of the secretary if elected at such 
meetings, and may remunerate the president, treasurer, committee men, or any 
other member for their services, as they think fit. 

106. Security by officers. — It shall be the duty of every person holding any 
office touching the receipt or charge of any moneys of the society, under the 
penalty of £1 before entering on the execution of his office, either to enter into 
an agreement or to become bound, with or without a surety, as the committee 
require, according to the forms in rule 138, or such forms as they approve from 
time to time, or to give the security of a guaranty society, in such sum as they 
direct, for rendering a full and true account of all moneys received or paid by 
him on account of the society, at such times as the rules fix or as the commit- 
tee require, and for the payment of all sums due from him to the society. ( See 
the act, sec. 47.) 

Sec. 5. — Conduct of business. 

107. Dealings shall be for cash. — All goods sold by the society shall be paid 
for on delivery or, if the committee so direct, on order. 

108. Payment of moneys into bank. — All moneys received from the members 
or otherwise on behalf of the society shall be placed to the account of the so- 
ciety with such bank as the committee may select; and, if not impracticable, 
with some banking society or company which is a member of the Cooperative 
Union (Ltd.) ; and, if the moneys of the society can not conveniently be thus 
disposed of, shall be kept in such custody as the committee direct from time 
to time. 

109. Payment by checks, subject Iq the direction of any general meeting. — 
When a banking account is opened all payments above such sum as the general 
meetings fix from time to time, and subject thereto, £5 shall be made by checks, 
signed as the society may direct and subject thereto by two of the committee, 
countersigned by the secretary. 

110. Seal of the society (its custody and use). — The society shall have its 
name engraven in legible characters upon a seal, which shall be in the custody 
of the secretary, and shall be used only under the authority of a resolution of 
the committee, the date whereof shall be mentioned on the instrument to which 
the seal is attached ; and shall be attested by the signature of two members of 
the committee and the countersign of the secretary. (See the act, schedule 

II (11).) 

111. Use of name of the society. — The name of the society shall be men- 
tioned in legible characters in all notices, advertisements, and official publica- 
tions, bills of exchange, promissory notes, indorsements, checks, or orders for 
money or goods purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the society, and on 
all bills of parcels, invoices, receipts, or letters of credit of the society, and shall 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 63 

be conspicuously painted or affixed, and kept painted or affixed in letters easily- 
legible on the outside of every office or place of business of the society. (See 
the act, sec. 66.) 

112. Complaints and suggestions by members. — A member who has any com- 
plaint to make as to the quality, quantity, or price of any goods supplied by 
the society, or the conduct of any officer or servant of the society, or any sug- 
gestions for better carrying into effect the objects of the society, shall send 
the particulars of such complaint or suggestion to the committee, who shall 
inquire into and decide upon them, subject to an appeal from any such decision 
to an ordinary business meeting ; but no such complaint shall be brought before 
any such meeting except on appeal. 

113. Employment of members. — Except the committee should direct other- 
wise in any case, the holding shares in the society shall not be required as a 
condition of employment. 

Sec. 6. — Federation. 

114. This society shall become a member of the Cooperative Union (Ltd.) 
and of the Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.). 

Sec. 7. — Evidence. 

115. Minutes to be evidence of proceedings. — The minutes of all meetings of 
the society or committee, containing such particulars as the committee direct 
from time to time, shall be regularly recorded by the secretary ; and the minutes 
of every monthly or ordinary business meeting of the society and of every 
meeting of the committee shall be read at the next of such meetings, respec- 
tively, and signed by the chairman of the meeting at which they are so read, 
and the minutes of every special general meeting shall be read at the meeting 
of the committee following and signed by the chairman of such meeting ; and 
all minutes so signed shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be taken 
as between the society and every member thereof to be a true statement of 
any matter therein contained, subject to the correction of any patent error. 

116. What to be sufficient notice. — Every member shall be taken to have due 
notice of every meeting, resolution, or other matter of which notice is required 
by the rules of the society to be given, if the same is made known in such 
manner as the society may direct, and subject thereto and to any special direc- 
tion in these rules by posting or sending a notice to the registered address of 
such member. 

CHAPTER VII. ACCOUNTS AND RETURNS. 

Sec. 1. — The auditors. 

117. Subject to the appointment of any public auditor there shall be two 
auditors. 

(1) The auditors shall be elected at the first ordinary business meeting of 
the society after it is registered; and afterwards one shall retire and one shall 
be elected at each ordinary business meeting, the order of retirement of the 
first auditors being fixed by themselves. 

(2) A retiring auditor shall be reeligible. 

(3) A vacancy in the appointment of an auditor may be filled up by the 
committee. 

(4) No servant of the society can be an auditor. 

(5) Any such meeting, in lieu of electing an auditor, may direct that the 
accounts shall be audited by a public auditor appointed under the act, named 
thereby; and thereupon the appointment of the then continuing auditor shall 
be vacated, and the audit shall be conducted by such public auditor. 

(6) Any subsequent general meeting may vary such direction by substituting 
the name of another public auditor, or, by a resolution whereof notice has been 
given as in the case of a special general meeting, may rescind the same; and 
thereupon the meeting shall elect auditors, who shall retire and be reeligible 
as is provided by clauses (1) to (3). 

118. Duties of the auditors. (1) General: The auditors shall audit the ac- 
counts of the society to be prepared by the committee as hereinbefore provided, 
for the period intervening from the formation of the society or their last audit, 
to such time as the society may direct, and subject thereto to the beginning of 



64 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

the last calendar month previous to each ordinary business meeting, and shall 
lay before it a balance sheet of the receipts and expenditure of the society 
during the period to which the audit extends and a statement of its assets and 
liabilities at the time of such audit, both signed by them, which shall specify 
the total amount of all moneys borrowed by the society, distinguishing the 
character of the securities on which each is obtained. 

(2) Annual return: The auditors shall examine the annual return after- 
mentioned and verify the same with the accounts relating thereto, and shall 
either sign the same as found by them to be correct, duly vouched, and in 
accordance with law, or specially report to the society in what respects they 
find it incorrect, unvouched, or not in accordance with law. (See the act, 
sec. 14.) 

119. Powers of the auditors. — The auditors shall be entitled to call for and 
examine any paper or document belonging to the society, and shall make a 
special report to the society upon any matter connected with the accounts 
which appears to them to require notice. 

120. Audited accounts to ~be binding on the members. — Every balance sheet 
signed by the auditors and approved of by the meeting to which it is presented, 
shall be binding on all members of the society, excepting as to any error 
therein exceeding the sum of £10, brought before the next ordinary business 
meetings. 

121. Copy of accounts and report. — A copy of the last balance sheet of the 
society and of the report of the auditors shall be kept always hung up in a 
conspicuous place in the registered office of the society. (See the act, sec. 16.) 

122. Remuneration of the auditors. — The auditors shall receive such re- 
muneration as the ordinary business meetings vote them from time to time. 

Sec. 2. — Inspection of books and affairs. 

123. Right of inspection of books. — (1) Any member or person having an 
interest in the funds of the society may inspect his own account and the books 
containing the names of the members at all reasonable hours at. the registered 
office of the society or at any place where the same are kept, subject to such 
regulations as to the time and manner of such inspection as may be made from 
time to time by the gee era! meetings of the society. 

(2) Any 10 members, each of whom has been a member of the society for 
not less than 12 months, may apply to the registrar for the appointment of an 
accountant or actuary to inspect the books of the society and report thereon. 
Such accountant or actuary shall have power to make copies of any books of 
the society and to take extracts therefrom, at all reasonable hours, at the 
registered office of the society or at any place where the books are kept. (See 
the act, sec. 18 (1), (3).) 

124. Inspection of affairs on order of the registrar. — (1) An application may 
be made under section 50 of the act — (a) To appoint one or more inspectors to 
examine into the affairs of the society, and to report thereon; (b) to call a 
special meeting of the society in manner and for the purposes provided by such 
sections. 

(2) The application may be made by one-tenth part of the whole number of 
members, or, if the society exceeds 1,000 members by 100 members. 

(3) The application must be supported by such evidence for the purpose of 
showing that the applicants have good reason for requiring such inspection to 
be made or meeting called, and are not actuated by malicious motives therein, 
and be made on such notice to the society as the chief registrar directs. 

(4) Unless the registrar to whom it is made directs otherwise, all expenses 
of and incidental to any inspection or meeting ordered by him shall be defrayed 
out of the funds of the society. ( See the act, sec. 50. ) 

Sec. 3. — Annual return. 

125. What and when to be made. — (1) The committee shall, at such time 
before the 31st day of March in each year as they determine, send to the regis- 
trar a general statement, to be called the annual return, of the receipts and ex- 
penditure, funds, and effects of the society as audited, which — (a) shall show 
separately the expenditure in respect of the several objects of the society; (b) 
shall be made up to its last published balance sheet, provided that the date of 
such balance sheet is not more than one month before or after the 31st day of 
December then last, or otherwise up to the 31st day of December then last 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 65 

inclusively; (c) shall state whether the audit has been conducted by a public 
auditor appointed as by the act is provided, and by whom; (d) If the audit has 
been conducted by any person other than' a public auditor, shall state the name, 
address, and calling or profession of each such person, and the manner in which 
and the authority under which he is appointed. 

(2) Together with such return the committee shall send a copy of every 
auditor's report during the year whereto the same return relates. (See the 
act, sec. 14.) 

126. Copies of annual return and rules. — It shall be the duty of the committee 
to supply to every member or person interested in the funds of the society, on 
his application : 

(1) Gratuitously a copy of the last annual return for the time being of the 
society. (See the act, sec. 15.) 

(2) To every person on demand a copy of the rules at such price, not ex- 
ceeding 1 shilling, as the committee fix from time to time. (See the act, sec. 
10 (4).) 

CHAPTER VIII. — PROFITS. 

Primary charges. 

127. The profits of all business carried on by, or on account of, the society 
shall be applied as follows : 

(1) Interest on lqans: In payment of the interest upon any loans or deposits, 
and the dividend on preferential shares, according to the rates respectively 
agreed to be paid. 

(2) Reduction of fixed stock, etc. : In reduction of the value of the fixed stock 
and plant of the society, at the annual rate of 10 per cent on fixtures, and of 2£ 
per cent on shops, warehouses, and other buildings. 

(3) Reduction of preliminary expenses: In the reduction of the preliminary 
expenses (if any) incurred in forming the society, and remaining unwritten 
off in its books, at such rate, being not less than 5 per cent per annum, as the 
ordinary business meetings on the recommendation of the committee from time 
to time direct. 

(4) Interest on share capital: In payment of interest upon the share capital 
of the society at such rate, not exceeding 5 per cent per annum, as the ordinary 
business meetings may from time to time direct. 

(5) Reserve fund: In forming, by applying' such percentage of the net profits 
as the committee determine, a reserve fund, to which all fines shall be carried, 
applicable, by a resolution of the ordinary business meetings, on the proposal 
either of the committee or an individual member, and in regard to which notice 
has been given on the balance sheet: (a) To the equalization of dividends; (&) 
to meet any other contingency affecting the business of the society; (c) to any 
other purpose which the general meetings may from time to time direct, whether 
such purpose be charitable, philanthropic, of public utility, or any other purpose, 
whether within the objects for which the society is formed or not. 

(6) Educational fund: In promoting instruction, culture, or recreation, by 
forming an education fund, to which 2\ per cent of the net profits, or such other 
sum or percentage as any ordinary business meeting may resolve, shall be 
carried. 

(7) Congress fund: In paying, while the society continues a member of the 
Cooperative Union (Ltd.), such subscription to its funds as the rules and orders 
of the union fix. 

(8) Social fund: In promoting any other social or provident purpose author- 
ized by any special general meeting, or any two successive ordinary business 
meetings, by ; plying thereto such sums as the ordinary business meetings may 
vote. 

(9) Division of remaining profits: The remainder of the net profits left after 
providing for the preceding charges shall be divided between (a) the members 
who have made purchases of the society during the period to which the division 
relates, according to the amount of their purchases; (o) the nonmembers who 
have made purchases of the society during such period, according to the amount 
of their purchases, provided that the sum so divided shall not exceed one-half 
of the sum to which they would be entitled as members; (c) the employees 
of the society at such rate, not less than ^d. in the pound sterling on the gross 
sales, and id. in the pound sterling on net profits, as the ordinary business meet- 
ings fix, to be divided among them as such meeting* direct. 

34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 5 



66 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

(10) All dividends not withdrawn within one calendar month after they be- 
come receivable shall be applied in or toward the payment of shares, which 
shall be subject to the same conditions as to withdrawal as are in force in 
respect to all other shares, and shall be credited to the members respectively 
in the books of the society until the number of shares held by any member 
reaches the limit allowed by the act, or such inferior limit as the general meet- 
ings may fix, after which they shall be credited to such members as loans, with- 
drawable on such notice, not less than one calendar month, as the committee 
may determine from time to time. No fine shall be charged in respect of any 
share so placed to the credit of any member. 

128. Educational, provident, and social funds; mode of dealing with; special 
accounts, and committees for. — The funds appropriated under provisions (6) 
and (8) of rule 127 shall be applied for their respective objects in such manner 
as the ordinary business meetings direct from time to time, and separate ac- 
counts shall be kept thereof. In every case where specific funds are voted for 
educational, provident, or social purposes a separate account shall be kept of 
all sums voted for such purposes, and a special committee of such number of 
members, appointed in such manner as is fixed by such ordinary business meet- 
ings from time to time, shall be named in each case, who shall be responsible to 
them for the due application of the funds placed under their care ; and the 
accounts of all such funds shall be regularly audited by the auditors of the 
society and submitted to the ordinary business meetings, at such periods as 
they direct from time to time, and subject thereto at each such meeting. 

CHAPTER IX. — DISPUTES AND EXPULSION OF MEMBERS. 

129. Disputes; how to be determined. — Every dispute between a member of 
this society or any person aggrieved who has, for not more than six months, 
ceased to be a member of this society, or any person claiming, through such 
member or person aggrieved, or claiming under the rules of this society, and 
the society or an officer thereof, shall be decided in the following manner : 

(1) Appointment of arbitrators: At the first or any subsequent general meet- 
ing of the society after this rule is registered, five arbitrators shall be elected, 
none of whom are directly or indirectly interested in the funds of the society. 

(2) Mode of selection: In any case of dispute the secretary of the society, 
or such other person as the committee direct, shall, in the presence of the mem- 
ber or person aggrieved or claiming, or some person appointed by him, write 
the names of the arbitrators for the time being upon separate pieces of paper, 
and place them, so that the names shall be concealed, in a box or other recep- 
tacle, from which such member or person shall draw out three; the persons 
whose names are so drawn shall be the arbitrators to decide the dispute. 

(3) Vacancies in the number of arbitrators shall be filled by the first general 
meeting after they occur, and if not then, filled by the committee. 

(4) The cost of an arbitration shall be borne as the arbitrators direct, and 
each party shall deposit 10s. to abide their decision. 

(5) Where the dispute is between the legal personal representative or the 
nominee of a deceased member and the society, and the question at issue is, 
who is entitled to the whole or any portion of the property of such deceased 
member in the society, and either claimant applies to the society for arbitration, 
the secretary of the society shall give to each claimant notice in writing, fixing 
a day and hour for the parties to attend at the society's registered office for the 
selection of arbitrators, in the mode set out in clause 2 of this rule, by such 
of the claimants as attend. 

(6) When the arbitrators have made their award on any dispute they shall 
send a copy of the award to the secretary of the society. 

(7) The arbitration act, 1889, or any act amending the same, shall not apply 
to any arbitration under this rule. 

130. How a member may be expelled. — A member may be expelled by the 
vote of two-thirds of the members present at a special general meeting of the 
society, upon a charge in writing of conduct detrimental to the society, commu- 
nicated to him, by order of the committee, one calendar month before the 
meeting. 

131. Payment of expelled members. — A member so expelled shall be paid the 
full sum paid on any shares in the society held by him at the date of the 
resolution for his expulsion, and all transferable shares held by him shall be 
extinguished upon such payment being tendered, whether the member accept 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 67 

the tender or not, and an entry referring to the minute of expulsion and the 
date of such tender shall be made on the register of shares under all such shares. 

132. Readmission of expelled member. — No expelled member shall be read- 
mitted except by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at an ordinary 
business meeting, on a motion of which notice has been given. 

CHAPTER X. — ALTERATION OF RULES. 

133. Majority requisite to make alterations. — Any rule of the society not 
declared to be fundamental in manner hereinafter stated may be repealed or 
altered, or any new rule be made, by a majority of two-thirds of the members 
voting at any special general meeting. 

134. Fundamental rules. — The special rules of the society may declare any 
rule of the society therein mentioned, including this provision, to be funda- 
mental ; and no rule comprised in such declaration shall be repealed or altered 
without such consent so given as is thereby specified. 

135. Additional alterations. — Application for the registration of every addi- 
tion, repeal, or alteration shall be made to the registrar for the country where 
the society is established, in manner and form required by the treasury regula- 
tions, as soon as is practicable after the same has been made, and a copy thereof 
shall be issued with every copy of the rules issued after the registration thereof. 
No amendment of rules is valid until registered. 

CHAPTER XI. — CHANGE OF NAME, AMALGAMATION, CONVERSION INTO A COMPANY, 

AND DISSOLUTION. 

136. Change of name, etc. — This society may, by special resolution passed in 
manner prescribed by the act — 

(1) Change its name with the approval of the registrar 1 in writing. 

(2) Amalgamate with or transfer its engagements to any other society or 
company, or accept any such transfer. 

(3) Convert itself into a company under the companies acts as in the act 
prescribed. (See the act, sec. 54.) 

137. Dissolution. — The society may be voluntarily dissolved — 

(1) By a resolution to wind it up, made as is directed in regard to companies 
by the companies acts, 1862 to 1890. 

(2) By an instrument of dissolution signed by three-fourths of the members 
for the time being, and in the form prescribed by the treasury regulations. 
(See sec. 58 6.) 

CHAPTER XII. — FORMS OF INSTRUMENTS. 

138. Instruments shall have the following forms. — The instruments referred 
to in the preceding rules shall be in the forms following, or as near thereto as 
the case allows. The date, the name of the society, and, if the case requires, an 
address to the committee shall in all cases be prefixed: 

(1) Application for admission by an individual: 

(a) By application for shares: I, the undersigned, hereby apply for 

[transferable] or [withdrawable] shares in the above-named society, in respect 
of which I agree to make the payments required by the rules of the society, and 
otherwise to be bound thereby. 

Signature of applicant, stating his address and occupation. 

( b ) By payment for a copy of rules : Received this day a copy of the rules 
of the above-named society, for which I have paid [on account of the under- 
mentioned applicant 2 ] the sum required to be paid on an application for ad- 
mission to the society. 

Signature as above or, if the payment is made by any other person than the 
applicant, of this person, stating the name, address, and occupation of the 
applicant. 

(2) Application for shares by a society or company: We, the undersigned, 

secretary and two of the committee of management of the [Society 

(Ltd.)] hereinafter called the applicant, in virtue of a resolution thereof, dated 
the day of , hereby apply on its behalf for [transferable] or [with- 



1 The chief registrar in England or the assistant registrar for Ireland or Scotland, if 
the society is registered, and does business exclusively there. 

8 Omit the words in brackets if the payment is made by the applicant. 



68 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

drawable] shares in the above-named society, in respect of which the applicant 
hereby agrees to make all payments required by the rules of the above-named 
society, and otherwise to be bound thereby. In witness whereof we have signed 
our names hereto, by the authority of the society. 

Signatures of the members of the committee, and countersign of the secretary, 
stating, respectively, their qualifications as such, and the registered office of the 
applicant. 

The same form applies to a company, substituting company, with or without 
limited, as the case may be, for [Society (Ltd.)], and board of directors for 
committee. 

(3) Transfer between individuals: This instrument, made the day of 

, 19 — , between A, of , and B, of , witnesses, that in con- 
sideration of the sum of £ , paid by the said B to me, I, the said A, hereby 

transfer to the said B, his executors, administrators, and assigns, the 

shares, numbered , now standing in my name in the books of the above- 
named society, to hold the said shares upon the same conditions on which I now 
hold the same, and that I, the said B, hereby accept the said shares, subject to 
the said conditions. In witness whereof we have hereto set our hands. 

[Name of transferor.] 

[Name of transferee.] 

(4) Transfer between societies or companies: This instrument, made the 

day of , 18 — , between Society (Ltd.), established at , herein- 
after called the vendor, of the one part, and the Society (Ltd.), estab- 
lished at , hereinafter called the purchaser, of the other part, in consid- 
eration of £ paid by the purchaser to the vendor, witnesses that the vendor 

hereby transfers the shades, numbered , now standing in the name 

of the vendor in the books of the above-named society, to the purchaser, and 
the assigns of such purchaser, to hold the same upon the same conditions on 
which they are held by the vendor; and that the purchaser accepts the said 
shares subject to the said conditions. In witness whereof the seals of the said 
societies are hereto attached, by the resolutions of the committees thereof, dated, 
respectively, the day of and the day of . 

(N. B. — The seals of the societies and signatures of the committee and secre- 
tary must be affixed as in form (2). The same form applies, with the necessary 
changes, to transfers between companies.) 

(5) Agreement or bond of security by officers in England or Ireland: (See 
the act, Schedule III (1).) 

(a) Without a surety. — This agreement, made the day of , be- 
tween A B, of , and the Society (Ltd.), established at , in 

the county of , herein called the Society. Whereas the said A B 

has been appointed to the office of in the society on condition of his en- 
tering into this agreement. Now it is hereby witnessed as follows: 

The society agrees with the said A B, 

(State salary or other equivalent, if any; if not, omit this part altogether.) 

The said A B, in consideration of the premises, agrees with the Society 

to render a just and true account of all moneys received and paid by him on 
account of the society at such times as the rules thereof appoint, and to pay 
over all the moneys remaining in his hands, and assign and transfer or deliver 
over all property (including books and papers) belonging to the society in his 
hands or custody to such person or persons as the society or the committee 
thereof appoint, according to the rules of the society, together with the proper 
and legal vouchers for such payments; 

And in case of any default in performance of these agreements, then that 
he, his heirs, executors, or administrators shall pay the society the sum of 
£ as liquidated damages. In witness whereof the said A B and the under- 
signed C D, in the name and by the authority of the society, have set their 
hands the year and day first aforesaid. 

A B. 

(Description of office, if any, held by him in the society.) 

C D. 

(Witness to the signatures.) 

(5) With a surety : Know all men by these presents that we, A B, of , 

one of the officers of the Society (Ltd.), established at , in the 

county of , and C D, of , as surety for and on behalf of the said 

A B, are jointly and severally held and firmly bound to the said society in the 

sum of , to be paid to the said society or their certain attorney, for 

which payment well and truly to be made we jointly and severally bind our- 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 69 

selves and each of us by himself, our and each of our heirs, executors, and ad- 
ministrators, firmly by these presents sealed with our seals. 

Dated this day of . 

Whereas the above bounden A B has been duly appointed to the office of 
of the society established as aforesaid, and he, together with the above- 



bounden C D, as his surety, have entered into the above-contained bond, sub- 
ject to the conditions hereinafter contained ; now, therefore, the condition of 
the above-contained bond is such that if the said A B do render a just and true 
account of all moneys received and paid by him on account of the said society, 
at such times as the rules thereof appoint, and do pay over all the moneys re- 
maining in his hands and assign and transfer or deliver over all property (in- 
cluding books and papers) belonging to the said society in his hands or custody 
to such person or persons as the said society or the committee thereof appoint, 
according to the rules of the said society, together with the proper and legal 
vouchers for such payments, then the above-contained bond shall be void, but 
otherwise shall remain in full force. 

(The seals and signatures of the officer and surety should be affixed here. 
The seal may be a wafer put opposite the name of the signing party, on which 
he should put one finger and say, " I deliver this as my act and deed.")' 

Sealed and delivered in the presence of us — 

C D, of ; 

E F, of . 

(There must be two witnesses to each signature, but the same persons may 
witness both. If the officer and his surety sign before different witnesses, the 
form of witnessing should be repeated. 

The reason of using an agreement instead of a bond where there is no surety 
is that an agreement, if not under seal, is liable to a stamp duty of 6d. only, 
while a bond is liable to duty at the rate of 2s. 6d. for every £100, while an 
agreement is equally effectual in this case. For a surety a bond is preferable 
as more safe against legal objection.) 

(c) In Scotland: Form of bond of surety. (See the act, Schedule III (2).) 

I, A B, of , hereby bind and oblige myself to the extent of £ at 

most, as caution and security for C D, a person employed by the Society 

(Ltd.), that he, the said C D, shall, on demand, faithfully and truly account 
for all moneys received and paid by him for behoof of the said society, and 
also assign and transfer or deliver over all property, including books and pa- 
pers, belonging to the said society in his hands or custody, and that to such 
person or persons as the said society or the commmittee thereof appoint, ac- 
cording to the rules of the said society. 

Dated at , this day of . 

(Signature of cautioner.) 

E F, of , witness. 

G. H, of , witness. 

(N. B. — The act provides that the above bond shall not require a testing 
clause or a subscription clause, and may be wholly written or wholly printed or 
partly written and partly printed.) 

(6) Condition of a bond by or as security for a manager or storekeeper who 
has charge of goods as well as of money. — The condition of the above-written 
bond is such that if the said A B discharge the duties of his said office without 
embezzling, misapplying, unlawfully making away with, or willfully or care- 
lessly wasting or losing any of the moneys, goods, chattels, merchandise, or 
effects in his charge or keeping, and do render a just and true account, etc. 
[as in Form 5.] 

(7) Deed of statutory mortgage: This indenture made by way of statutory 
mortgage, the day of , 18 — , between the Society (Ltd.), es- 
tablished at , in the county of , of the one part, and , of 

, of the other part, witnesseth that in consideration of the sum of 

pounds sterling now paid to the said society by the said , of which sum 

the society hereby acknowledges the receipt, the society, as mortgagor and bene- 
ficial owner, hereby conveys to the said all those lands mentioned in the 

schedule hereto annexed, to hold to and for the use of the said , in fee 

simple, for securing payment on the day of , 18 — , of the principal 

sum of pounds sterling as the mortgage money, with interest thereon at 

the rate of per cent per annum. In witness whereof the seal of the society, 

attested as is required by the rules thereof, has been hereto attached the year 
and day first aforesaid. 



70 COOPERATION" AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



Name of land. 


Situation. 


Quantity. 

































Variations may be made in this form if required for leasehold and other matter. [See the Conveyancing 
and Law of Property Act, 1881, Schedule III, part I.] 

The foregoing rules are the general rules referred to in the special rules 
signed by us. 



-, Secretary, 



Appendix No. 2. 

CITY OF LIVERPOOL EQUITABLE COOPERATIVE SOCIETY (LTD.). 

[Registered under act of Parliament. Office : 162 Walton Road.] 

HOW IT WAS FORMED AND HOW IT IS WORKED. 

The society was formed in 1886 by a few working men, who found it difficult 
to save money, owing to their low wages. They put their small savings together 
and stocked a shop with goods bought at wholesale prices, which they sold to 
themselves at retail prices. The difference between the wholesale and retail 
prices, after paying working expenses and interest on their capital, was the 
profit they had saved, and this was divided in proportion to each member's 
trade. The same method prevails to-day, but on a much larger scale. The 
capital for the business is provided by the members, who may put in up to £200 
each, on which they receive 4£ per cent per annum interest, providing they trade 
with the society, as required by rule. The members elect a management com- 
mittee from themselves at quarterly meetings to control the business, and this 
committee appoints competent managers and employees for the various de- 
partments. 

HOW IT HAS GROWN. 

The society started with 30 members and £26 10s. share capital, doing a trade 
of £2 10s. per week in flour, sugar, tea, cocoa, and soap. Now we have 8,400 
members, whose share capital is £48,000, the sales last 12 months being £165,000. 
The society now supplies nearly all household requirements, having 21 grocery 
and provision stores, well-appointed warehouse, 2 drapery and boot depart- 
ments, furnishing and millinery departments, tailoring shop and workrooms, 
an extensive coal business, an up-to-date boot repairing shop, and an electric- 
machine bakery with bread and confectionery department, which supplies the 
stores daily with fresh goods. 

HOW MEMBERS BENEFIT. 

Honest value is given, and we are opposed to cut-throat prices, sweating, or 
adulteration. Accounts are made up quarterly, and the profits, after paying 
working expenses and interest, are returned to members as dividend on their 
purchases. During the last 5 years we have paid over £48,000 in dividend 
to members, and this last 12 months alone we have paid them over £14,000 at 
the rate of Is. lOd. in the pound sterling and upward on their purchase. Thus, 
the more you purchase from the society, the greater your benefit. Dividend 
can be withdrawn or may be left with the society against times of sickness, 
unemployment, or for other needs. 

HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER. 

Sign the attached application form and leave it at any of the stores with 6d. 
entrance fee. You will then receive a share book, etc., and become a full voting 
member when you have £1 in the society. The £1 share can be paid up at 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 71 

once or by installments or by leaving 2s. of the dividend each quarter. Share 
deposits and dividends can be withdrawn altogether on leaving the society, on 
short notice being given, or can be partly withdrawn if required for an 
emergency. 

Appendix No. 3. 

CITY OF LIVERPOOL EQUITABLE COOPERATIVE SOCIETY (LTD.). 

[Established 1886 ; Register No. 2538 R.] 

Report and Balance Sheet for the One hundred and first Quarter, ended 

October 10, 1911. 

[9,400 members. Annual sales, £175,000.] 

The quarterly meeting of members will be held at the New Central Premises, 
Walton Road, Kirkdale, on Monday, November 18, 1911, at 7.30 p. m. 

committee's report. 

Fellow Members : In spite of the recent industrial disputes, and it being the 
holiday quarter of the year, the sales last quarter are the highest in the society's 
history, while the number of new members for the quarter is also a record. 

The total sales for the first three quarters this year amount to £134,220, an 
increase of £30,125 over the corresponding quarters last year. 

We have great pleasure in welcoming you to the first members' meeting held 
in the new central premises, and feel sure that you will appreciate the efforts 
made to build premises fitted for the various needs of the society and worthy 
of the cooperative movement. 

No. 20 Branch, West Derby Road, Tuebrook, is now practically completed, 
and will be open for business in a few days. The shop, 529 West Derby Road, 
held on lease, will therefore be closed and the business transferred to the new 
premises, which, together with the other new premises, 86 Gloucester Rcacl, are 
well adapted to meet our trade in that district. Will you therefore please do 
all in your power to increase the trade and membership at these branches? 

The plans for the new bakery have now been passed by the corporation, and 
we hope to let contracts for the first part of the work in a few days. The altera- 
tions necessary to convert the old drapery premises into the new tailoring de- 
partment are also under consideration, and will be commenced shortly. 

On an urgent appeal from the Mid-Rhondda Central distress committee we 
have subscribed £5 to their fund on behalf of the wives and children of the 
South Wales miners so long on strike, and trust that you will confirm our action 
on your behalf. 

Now that the work of the society is on such a large scale, may we ask for 
your loyal support in all our undertakings on your behalf, so that we may 
continue the magnificent progress that has been made by the united effort of 
all concerned in the past. 

After providing fully for all expenses, depreciation, and interest there is a 
balance disposable of £4,950. 2s. id., which we recommend be allotted as follows : 

£ s. d. £ s. d. 
Dividend on purchases, at Is. lOd. in the pound 

sterling 4,193 13 2 

Dividend on check balance, £3,920, at Is. lOd. in the 

pound sterling 359 6 8 

4, 552 19 10 

Educational grant 99 16 6 

Women's guild grant 11 1 10 

Dividend equalization fund 100 

Reserve fund 150 

Balance forward 36 3 10$ 

4, 950 2 0$ 

C. W. S. purchases, 83£ per cent 31, 219 14 8$ 

Other cooperative purchases, 2 per cent 753 14 2 

Outside purchases, 14| per cent 5, 548 8 9$ 

Average share capital per member 5 5 10$ 

Average weekly purchase per member 8 



12 



COOPERATION" AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



New members 1, 179 

Canceled 76 

Withdrawn 184 

Trading members 8, 860 

Total members on books 9, 440 

Yours, truly, 

The Committee. 



Cash account. 

EECEIPTS. 

To balance, July 11, 1911 160 10 61 

Sales 45,749 7 91 

Warehouse sales 2 2 9 

Share contributions 2, 698 15 3 

Loan contributions 416 13 11 

Penny-bank contributions 448 19 10 

Clothing-club contributions . 112 10 6 

Christmas-club contributions 200 17 21 

Rents (expenses account) 88 19 1 

Insurance premiums (agency) 8 8 6 

Entrance fees 29 9 6 

Nomination fees 1 3 

Railway claims recovered 2 10 8 

Insurance commission 114 

Cooperative building society subscriptions (agency)- 72 4 10 

Cartage rebates 11 19 8 

Commission on trade accounts 8 16 2 

Roden Home fees refunded 5 

Investments withdrawn 23 

Horses sold 37 5 

Loans repaid 4 

Funeral commission 1 12 5 

Educational receipts 2 16 

Bank withdrawals, Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.) 31,282 10 4 

Bank withdrawals, London and provincial 8, 873 15 2 

90, 239 11 81 

PAYMENTS. 

£ s. d. £ s. d. 

By goods, coal, etc 32,720 7 71 

Carriage, freight, etc 282 8 111 

33, 002 16 7 

Trade expenses 5,368 3 2 

Share withdrawals 4, 200 14 5 

Loan withdrawals 36 12 

Penny-bank withdrawals 590 11 

Club withdrawals (clothing) 103 6 

Members' dividend 1, 195 2 6 

Nonmembers' dividend 16 10 

Additions to fixtures 858 15 9 

Additions to horses and rolling stock 259 4 1 

Additions to land and buildings 2, 874 18 

Insurance premiums (agency) 6 18 9 

Cooperative building society (agency) 73 9 10 

Educational purposes 89 7 5 

Women's guild grant 11 3 

Current checks purchased 5 9 81 

Delegates' expenses 8 3 6 

Subscriptions and donations 7 13 8 

Distress coupons 4 5 

Gratuity to tenant re fire 10 

Loan to members 1 17 6 

Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.), Roden fees 5 

Bank deposits, Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.) 31,231 7 6 

Bank deposits, London and provincial 9, 138 16 4 

Additions to ovens 996 2 9 

Balance in hand, office 104 13 101 

Balance in hand, branches 63 2 61 

90,239 11 8J 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 73 
Trade-expenses account. 

RECEIPTS. 

To wages : £ s. d. 

Distributive 2,717 7 6| 

Productive 767 6 7 

Office 227 13 4 

Committee fees and scrutineers 26 19 

Stock taking : 

Committee 5 16 

Employees 7 10 

Auditing 10 10 

Shop rents 332 18 

Telephone rents 16 9 8 

Rates and taxes 173 18 10 

Insurance and licenses 32 18 9 

Repairs and renewals 197 7 OJ 

Horse expenses 270 17 5 

Gas and fuel 69 2 1\ 

Electric light and power 52 3 8 

Printing, stationery, and advertising 108 1 

Postages 16 4 7 

Traveling expenses 43 18 2 

Cleaning and sundries 30 2 7| 

Coal carting 17 4 8 

Interest on share capital 458 14 7 

Interest on loan capital 15 19 4 

Interest on penny-bank capital 12 5 8 

Interest on reserve funds 45 

Check books 1 14 4 

Insurance fund 20 

Depreciation 578 



6, 256 3 5 

PAYMENTS. 

£ s. d. 

By rents, as per cash account 88 19 1 

Interest on bank accounts 77 4 3 

Interest on investments 107 15 3 

Interest on central-property account 66 

Dividend on bank account 26 9 

Cartage rebates 11 19 8 

Productive expenses, charged trade account 1, 141 8 9 

Distributive expenses, charged trade account 4, 736 15 8 



6, 256 3 5 
Trade account. 

Dr. 

£ s. d. £ s. d. 

To stocks, July 11, 1911 13, 483 2 

Purchases and carriage 33, 002 16 7 

Less owing, July 11, 1911 2, 409 8 9| 

30 593 7 9 1 

Add owing, Oct. 10, 1911 7, 228 4 9* 

37, 821 12 6i 

Productive expenses 1, 141 8 9 

Distributive expenses 4, 736 15 8 

Marine-insurance premiums 10 10 

Balance, to profit and loss account 4, 565 5 7 



61, 758 12 8£ 

Cr. 

£ s. d. 

By sales, as per cash account 45, 749 7 9| 

Warehouse sales, as per cash account 2 2 9 

Railway claims recovered , 2 10 8 

Dividend on purchases : £ s. d. 

Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.) 330 

Per cash account 10 8 7 

Investments account 6 15 

346 10 

Stocks, Oct. 10, 1911 15, 658 1 6 

61, 758 12 8* 



74 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



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COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 
Bank accounts. 



75 





London and 
provincial. 


Cooperative 

Wholesale 

Society(Ltd. . 




London and 
provincial. 


Cooperative 

Wholesale 

Sooiety(Ltd.). 


To balance, July 11,1911 
Deposits 


£ s. d. 
1, 197 6 6 
9,138 16 


£ s. d. 

8,713 <j 6 

31,231 7 6 

56 £ 


By withdrawals 

Check books 

Balance, Oct 10, 
1911 


£ ;. d. 

8,873 15 2 

9 4 

1,461 18 4 


£ s. d. 
31,282 10 4 
15 


Dividend 


8,717 2 5 


Total 


10,336 2 10 


40,000 17 9 


Total 




10,336 2 10 


40,000 17 9 









Profit and loss account. 

Dr. 

£ s. d. 

To dividends paid to members 1, 195 2 6 

Dividend transferred to share account 2, 753 14 4 



s. d. 



Dividend paid to nonmembers. 

Educational grant 

Women's guild grant 

Sbare-redemption fund 

Reserve fund 

Balance 



3,948 


16 


10 




16 


10 


100 


i 





11 


3 





300 








100 








513 


7 


3 



4,974 10 11 



Ce. 
By balance disposable last quarter 4, 974 10 11 



Dr. 

To sale of Cooperative News and Our Circle 

Subscriptions, as per cash account 

Dividend, current quarter's checks 

Delegates' expenses 

Gratuity, branch shop tenant re fire 

Reduction of old drapery fixtures 

Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.), Roden fees. 



Balance disposal 4, 950 



7 


6 


6 


7 


13 


8 


5 


9 


8* 


8 


3 


6 


1 








100 








5 








950 


2 


Oh 



5, 084 15 5 



Cr. 

By balance 513 7 3 

Balance from trade account 4, 565 5 7 

Nomination fees '. 1 3 

Insurance commission 114 

Roden Home fees received : 5 



5, 084 15 5 



Central property account. 

DR. 

£ s. d. 

To interest 66 

Depreciation (buildings only) 61 

Balance 154 12 3 



Cr. 



By balance from last quarter- 
Rents (central premises)-. 



Capital account. 



281 12 3 



131 12 3 
150 

281 12 3 



LIABILITIES. 

£ s. d. £ s. d. 

Share capital 49,971 18 3 

Interest 458 14 7 

50, 430 12 10 

Loan capital 2,340 10 7 

Penny Bank capital 2,048 12 5£ 

Clothing club 92 7 9 

Christmas club 200 17 2J 



76 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



Accounts owing : £ s. d. £ s. d. 

Goods 7, 228 4 9 

Trade expenses 754 17 9 

Insurance agency 3 18 2 

<7 987 q 8 

Educational fund ; ' 64 19 1\ 

Total liabilities 63,165 1 1| 

Cooperative Wholesale Society dividend and interest 1, 162 11 

Central property account 154 12 3 

Reserve fund 1,778 13 11 

Dividend equalization fund 1, 100 

Renovation fund 172 11 1 

Members' loan fund 55 1 11 

Insurance fund 521 10 

Share redemption fund 300 

Opening expenses 100 

Balance, profit and loss account 4, 950 2 0| 

73, 460 3 4 



ASSETS. 

Stock in trade 15, 658 1 6 

Fixtures and rolling stock, etc 8, 205 6 10 

Land and buildings 29, 469 10 10 

Share investments 9, 125 11 6 

Loan investments 403 16 2 

Expenses prepaid : 225 4 4 

Distress fund, coupons outstanding 4 5 

Change : 

Central and vans 21 10 

Branches 63 2 61 

Cash at Cooperative Wholesale Society Bank 8, 717 2 5 

Cash at London & Provincial Bank 1, 461 18 4 

Cash at office 104 13 101 

73,460 3 4~^ 
Auditor's Report. 

To the members of the City of Liverpool Equitable Cooperative Society (Ltd.). 

Ladies and Gentlemen : I have examined the books and accounts of your 
society for the quarter ended October 10, 1911, and hereby certify that the 
foregoing statement is correct. For the stock in trade I have relied upon the 
figures certified by your stock takers. The deeds of the society's property — 
deposited with the Cooperative Wholesale Society Bank — have been inspected 
and found in order. 

Manchester, November 6, 1911. Thos. Brodrick, Auditor. 

Departmental sales. 



Boot repairs. 



Coals. 



Grocery. 



Totals. 



Central grocery 

No. 1 branch 

No. 2 branch 

No. 3 branch. • 

No. 4 branch 

No. 5 branch 

No. 6 branch 

No. 7 branch 

No. 8 branch 

No. 9 branch 

No. 10 branch 

No. 11 branch 

No. 12 branch 

No. 13 branch 

No. 13a branch 

No. 14 branch 

No. 15 branch 

No. 16 branch 

No. 17 branch 

No. 18 branch 

No. 19 branch 

Bread vans 

Bread shop 

Coal depot 

Central drapery 

Central boots 

Tailoring 

Branch drapery and boots . 

Total 



£ s. d. 



11 

27 

21 

9 

27 



1 1 

11 9 

16 11 

5 11 

3 8 



15 
10 
21 
14 
17 

9 
19 

2 
13 
22 
18 
26 
11 
21 
209 



5 4 
3 10 

7 10 

8 5 



14 3 
19 4 

9 2 

3 9 

10 9 

13 11 

9 7 

15 4 
15 10 

7 
15 2 



147 
"45 



19 
i4~9 



725 12 7 



£ s. 
318 6 

119 6 
204 2 
110 10 
101 4 
316 5 
209 19 
100 1 

71 14 
122 11 

92 8 

120 8 10 
164 13 11 

86 11 4 
16 7 3 
164 1 7 
162 14 8 
57 17 
141 14 11 
104 16 3 

93 18 5 
368 14 8 
117 12 3 
• 24 15 6 



8 



£ 
4,457 
1,483 
2,028 
1,509 
1,162 
3,788 
2,550 
1,165 

910 
1,214 
1,083 
1,427 
1, 145 
1,041 

270 
1,851 
1,831 

892 
1,29 
1,240 
1,575 
3,233 
1,183 



s. d. 

5 7 

1 1 
16 6 
19 1 
11 1 

10 91 

8 9J 

2 10 

is ^ 
17 

16 6J 

11 11§ 
13 21 
19 0| 

6 8i 
18 

17 10 
16 10 

4 11| 

9 7 
13 5 

18 7| 

3 8 



3,390 18 2\ 



1,189 7 Si 

929 3 01 

603 2| 

£64 17 91 

41,632 17 



£ 
4,775 
1,613 
2,260 
1,642 
1,273 
4,131 
2,760 
1,280 

992 
1,358 
1,190 
1,566 
1,321 
1,147 

288 
2,029 
2,017 

969 
1,462 
1,357 
1,690 
3,812 
1,300 
24 
1,189 
1,077 

603 

610 



s. d. 

11 19 

8 6 

11 2 

6 8 

1 9 
19 71 

8 31 

10 1 

16 31 
15 11 
13 21 

2 01 
6 51 

19 61 

17 81 



15 21 

1 8 
18 10 

8 51 
15 11 
15 61 

7 51 

2 01 
21 

12 61 



45,749 7 91 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



77 



Departmental stocks. 

£ s. d. 

Central grocery 477 6 8 

No. 1 branch 142 7 2 

No. 2 branch 311 3 6 

No. 3 branch 181 5 

No 4 branch 101 9 8 

No. 5 branch 400 16 10 

No. 6 branch 304 14 1 

No. 7 branch 192 13 9 

No. 8 branch 86 9 3 

No. 9 branch 174 18 8 

No. 10 branch 107 13 

No. 11 branch 150 8 3 

No. 12 branch 141 10 

No. 13 branch 120 10 6 

No. 13a branch 115 5 3 

No. 14 branch 246 15 4 

No. 15 branch 208 12 2 

No. 16 branch 124 13 8 

No. 17 branch 214 8 9 

No. 18 branch 186 16 

No 19 branch 181 15 4 

Bread shop 30 14 10 

Coal depot 7 9 

Bakery 285 17 1 

Boot repairing 89 12 1 

Warehouse 5,925 6 9 

Central drapery 1,992 19 1 

Central boots 1,485 12 1 

Tailoring 770 4 1 

Branch drapery 598 7 I 

Branch boots 301 7 4 

15, 658 1 6 

Copies of departmental results can be had at the quarterly meeting or on 
application at the office. 

Educational Department. 
Attendances of committee. 





General. 


Classes, 
subcommittee. 


Social and 
rooms. 


Choir expenses. 




Poss. 


Act. 


Poss. 


Act. 


Poss. 


Act. 


Poss. 


Act. 


Mr. J. A. Edwards, chairman 


6 
6 
6 
6 
6 
3 
4 
6 
6 
6 


6 
6 
6 
6 
3 
4 
3 
6 
6 


3 


2 






2 


1 


Mr. Jas. Russell, treasurer l 


2 
2 
2 
2 


2 
2 
2 
2 




Mr. R. S. Gardner 1 






2 
2 


2 


Mr. Chas. Anders 2 






2 


Mr George Moir 2 








Mr. F. Scarisbrick 


3 
3 


3 
3 







Mr. Geo. H. Harvey 2 










Mrs. S. B. Owen 










Mrs. J. Daniels 


2 


2 






Mr W.J. Pickett, secretary 


3 


3 


2 


2 











1 Retire this quarter. 2 Retire next quarter. 

Account, quarter ended October 10, 1911. 



RECEIPTS. 

£ s. d. £ s. d. 

To Balance with secretary 4 7| 

Balance with society 43 17 6J 

Balance with treasurer 17 4 9J 

* 61 6 11| 

Grant from society 100 7 

Allowance for Cooperative News and Our Circles sold 7 6 6 

Hire of rooms and rent 10 2 

To Field-day tickets sold 5 13 2 

Proceeds whist drive 2 5 

Choir picnic tickets sold„ « „ — , 18 

188 6 9J 



78 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF UVING. 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

£ s. d. £ s. d. 

By Field-day expenses , 16 6 4 

Choir picnic 7 2 2 

Choir music and expenses 7 7 2 

Pamphlets, songbooks, etc 3 8 

Grant to Men's Guild 1 10 

Expenses re The Dawn 5 7 10 

Expenses, halls for concerts 7 2 6 

Expenses, advertising concerts 2 10 6 

Expenses, furnishing 2 12 5^ 

Rent of rooms 7 10 

Coal, gas, cleaning, repairs, etc 2 4 11| 

Caretaker's salary and fees 3 2 6 

Wheatsheaf records '. 20 7 6 

Cooperative News and Our Circle 13 5 6 

Cooperative News to libraries 16 3 

Delegates' and conference expenses 3 3 9 

Subscriptions : 

Local conference 7 6 

"One and All" Association 5 

Secretary's salary 2 2 

Stationery 3 7 4 

Audit fee 10 6 

Carriage of News, bills, etc 6 7 

Postage 4 9 5| 

Whist drive expenses 3 8 flf 

Bags for officials 1 14 6 

Tram fares, committee and officers . 1 12 11 

Balance witb secretary 4J 

Balance with treasurer 1 12 10J 

Balance with society 64 19 7| 

66 12 10h 



188 6 9J 
Audited and found correct. 

Thos. Brodrick, Public Auditor. 



Report for Quarter ended October 10, 1911. 

Fellow Members : We have pleasure in submitting our quarterly report and 
trust it will meet with your approval. 

We are looking forward to a busy time this season, having practically com- 
pleted the winter program, introducing new features which we trust will add 
to the effectiveness of our work. 

We have arranged for 10 lecture concerts in various districts, viz : Aintree, 
Waterloo, Bootle, Anfield, Kirkdale, Walton, and Tuebrook. Announcements of 
each will be posted in the branches and in the Wheatsheaf. The junior and 
senior choirs have been busy rehearsing, and no doubt will be able to render 
the musical part of our meetings with great effect. 

There is now every prospect of forming a successful junior cooperative class. 
We have obtained the services of a qualified teacher. The children seem in- 
terested, and we are looking forward to further development in this direction, 
which tends to give the children a greater interest in our movement. 

The rehearsals for the production of The Dawn are shaping very well, but 
are handicapped for room, and we are looking forward to rehearsals in the new 
hall before appearing before the public. We desire to thank those members of 
the Women's Guild who have shown the spirit of cooperation by helping to 
make the costumes for the little artists who will figure on the platform. 

The Wheatsheaf is the most popular publication we have in our movement. 
We have increased the issue to 7,000 copies, and it will be the members' own 
fault if they do not obtain a copy gratis. We have also issued 10,000 copies of 
circular and pamphlet, "Advice to New Members " and " How the Society was 
Formed and How it is Worked," for distribution. The Cooperative News does 
not increase its circulation pro rata with the growth of membership. It is the 
official organ of the movement and is worthy of better support. It has bright, 
breezy articles on all subjects for young and old — a paper you need not fear to 
leave about the house. To encourage the sale, the educational committee sell 
it at the small cost of one-half pence. Give the order for one with your gro- 
ceries every week. 

We have obtained a large stock of copies of Our Story, a bright little book 
giving the history of our movement, specially written by Miss Isa Nicholson 
(Preston), at the request of the Cooperative Union, for young cooperators, with 
a preface by W. R Rae (Sunderland). The book has had a record sale, this 
being the tenth edition of 250,000. Every member should see that their chil- 
dren, up to 16 years of age, are supplied with a copy, which can be obtained 



COOPEEATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 79 

gratis by sending a post card, giving age, name, and address, to secretary, Edu- 
cational Committee, 56 Conyers Street, Liverpool. 

The Northwestern Section Educational Committees Association conference 
takes place in new lecture hall on Saturday, December 2, at 3 p. m., when a 
paper will be read by Mr. F. Scarisbrick, entitled " Cooperative education, our 
castle in the air." 

Suggestions regarding our work will be welcomed by the committee from any 
member of the society and, if at all practicable, will be adopted. 

Members or their friends desirous of engaging the new lecture hall or other 
rooms for public meetings, special dances, whist drives, bazaars, etc., kindly 
apply to Mr. Charles Anders, 14 Walton Road, Liverpool. 

For the committee. w# x PlCKETT> secretary. 



Women's Guild Quarterly Report. 

Fellow Members : During the past quarter we have been fairly busy. We 
opened our guild meetings on August 21 with an open night, when Mrs. Blair 
spoke on the " Object of the guild." August 28 Mesdames Morley, Metcalf, 
and Ridgeway each gave excellent reports of the guild congress. We have had 
some very instructive lectures — Mrs. Blair, on " Copartnership housing " ; Mrs. 
Henry Mason, on "Flannelette and its dangers"; Mrs. Taylor (Aigburth 
branch), on "Milk"; Mrs. Billinge (Toxteth), on "Motherhood"; also Mr. 
Houseman (general manager), on "The price of goods at the present time," 
which our members fully appreciated. 

On October 23 we held a joint guild conference with Toxteth and Aigburth 
branches at Church Hall, Hope Street — subject, " School clinics " — which was 
a decided success. Prof. Moore moved and Mrs. Ellis (Birkenhead) seconded 
a resolution on the need of school clinics in our city, the same to be sent to 
the lord mayor. 

.On November 27 we are holding a lantern lecture on the Cooperative News, 
at the Y. M. C. A., Foley Street, to commence at 7.30 p. m. Lecturer, Mr. Bam- 
ford Tomlinson (Blackpool). Admission free. 

We have sent delegates to the Cheshire and North Wales conferences, Co- 
operative Wholesale Society quarterly meeting, local conference, Cooperative 
Union sectional conference, and the Women's Guild conferences. We have de- 
cided to hold our annual tea at our new central premises early in the new 
year. 

Please note. — After November 6 all communications to guild be sent to new 
secretary, Mrs. Clowes, 66 Cedar Road, Aintree. 

(Mrs.) A. Malcolm, Secretary. 

Cash account. 

BECEirTS. 

£ s. d. £ s. d. 

To Balance with secretary 3 

Balance with hank 16 19 8 

16 19 11 

Grant from society 11 3 

Members' subscriptions 15 

Literature sold 1 5 10J 

Convalescent fund donation 10 

Proceeds open night 11 3 

Bank interest 2 9 

Badges sold 9 

Members' subscription, Convalescent Home 4 

30 12 6| 

EXPENDITURES. 

By Expenses, delegates 1 11 7 

Expenses, speakers 6 

Expenses, open night and social 13 6 

Convalescent Home fees 14 

Rent of rooms 13 

Literature 12 9 

Postage, etc 10 9£ 

Secretary's honorarium 15 9 

Balance with secretary 5 3 

Balance with bank 24 5 5 

24 10 8 



30 12 6J 

Audited and found correct Thos> B roderick, Public Auditor. 



80 



COOPEBATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 
Special Notices. 






Examine your checks each week. This is very important. 

Wrong number checks must be sent to the office for alteration at once, as it 
causes considerable trouble to adjust these errors after they are more than a 
fortnight old, and we will not hold ourselves responsible for any differences 
after the close of the quarter. 

Next quarter closes on Tuesday, January 9, 1912, and no share capital will 
be received after that date to bear interest for the April quarter. Share inter- 
est is now 4i per cent per annum. 

Members are requested to send in share books for audit not later than Feb- 
ruary 3, 1912, and to get a receipt when handing them in to office or branches. 
This receipt must be produced when the book is again applied for. 

Share withdrawals. — Any member withdrawing must attend personally or 
send a written statement bearing his or her signature, with the share book, 
authorizing payment to the bearer; otherwise no withdrawals can be paid. 
Members desiring to draw over £2 must make application before Thursday for 
payment that week. Withdrawal forms may be had at the branches. 

Change of address. — Members changing their address should notify the sec- 
retary in writing. 

Nomination of heirs. — Members holding not more than £100 can nominate 
their heirs as per rule 58. This is roost important in case of death and will 
save a lot of trouble and expense. 

Agency for the Cooperative Insurance Society (Ltd.). — Compensation insur- 
ance, 2s. 6d. per year for each servant or charwoman. A hundred pounds' 
worth of furniture and valuables insured for 3s. 6d. per year against fire and 
burglary. Apply office, 162 Walton Road, or any of the branches. 

We are now paying full dividend on household fire, burglary, and servants' 
insurance premiums. You can not do better with any other agency. 

Penny Banfo Claims. 
[Over Is., as at July 11, 1911. Includes only those books not sent in for audit.] 



No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 




£ s. d. 




£ s. d. 




£ s. d. 




£ s. 


d. 




£ s.d. 


6 


6 2 1 


66 


1 8 


131 


1 10 2 


198 


2 


6 


263 


2 14 5 


7 


14 4 


68 


4 7 


133 


1 3 


199 


1 7 





264 


19 3 


8 


9 


71 


8 5 


134 


3 


200 


8 9 





265 


3 3 


10 


3 1 


72 


14 1 


135 


15 11 


201 


2 





267 


3 3 


13 


10 7 


73 


2 6 


138 


15 2 


205 


19 


4 


268 


17 6 


14 


2 13 9 


74 


17 1 


139 


16 4 


207 


1 


6 


270 


11 7 


15 


1 7 


76 


1 


140 


3 6 5 


210 


17 18 


4 


272 


3 7 3 


16 


2 4 4 


77 


2 16 3 


142 


19 6 


211 


5 


1 


273 


1 1 


17 


3 


78 


16 


146 


2 18 6 


212 


2 1 





275 


15 10 


18 


18 1 


80 


16 9 3 


149 


2 6 


213 


3 





276 


1 


19 


3 


82 


4 9 


150 


7 8 3 


215 


2 9 


5 


278 


7 


21 


4 


83 


11 6 


153 


1 13 9 


216 


1 


6 


279 


2 


23 


5 1 11 


84 


10 1 


155 


5 6 


217 


3 





280 


2 13 7 


26 


1 


87 


13 2 


157 


1 10 


219 


7 


2 


281 


1 3 


27 


18 8 


92 


1 17 8 


158 


2 11 3 


223 


1 


3 


282 


1 4 


29 


2 


93 


1 


159 


4 8 


225 


1 


2 


283 


3 16 3 


30 


15 6 


94 


8 10 


160 


2 5 


226 


1 





285 


13 2 


33 


1 6 


95 


3 6 


162 


13 4 


227 


3 


6 


286 


2 17 2 


34 


7 7 


97 


2 


164 


14 11 


229 


4 


6 


288 


1 1 7 


36 


2 


98 


8 9 


165 


1 6 


232 


2 1 


1 


290 


12 2 


38 


1 1 


102 


2 6 


166 


19 4 


235 


2 





291 


18 


39 


6 3 


104 


1 6 


167 


10 9 


236 


2 





292 


1 


40 


16 4 


105 


3 1 


168 


1 


238 


3 


5 


294 


4 18 6 


41 


3 5 


107 


2 


171 


1 10 1 


239 


6 





295 


1 


44 


15 2 


108 


1 


172 


10 19 3 


241 


1 7 


4 


298 


1 


46 


1 11 


109 


2 12 4 


174 


2 10 4 


242 


7 





301 


2 5 


47 


13 2 


111 


2 16 


175 


1 7 


243 


4 3 


5 


304 


2 9 


48 


6 8 


112 


7 2 


178 


5 3 


246 


12 


7 


305 


9 4 3 


49 


3 2 2 


114 


5 


180 


2 4 2 


247 


3 


9 


306 


15 2 


52 


2 5 


115 


10 18 6 


181 


14 2 


250 


8 





308 


6 2 


54 


1 


122 


10 3 


183 


1 9 


251 


11 4 





309 


12 3 


56 


2 9 


123 


14 6 


186 


1 3 


253 


18 


9 


312 


5 


58 


11 5 


125 


1 13 3 


187 


4 


256 


1 


7 


313 


1 


59 


7 


126 


7 


190 


4- 3 


258 


2 6 


4 


314 


3 2 


60 


5 5 2 


127 


5 4 


193 


2 18 4 


260 


3 1 


6 


317 


7 


61 


1 15 1 


128 


1 6 


195 


1 7 


261 


1 


3 


319 


13 2 


64 


12 11 


130 


8 3 


197 


3 3 


262 


20 6 


8 


320 


3 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



81 



Penny Bank Claims — Continued. 
[Over Is., as at July 11, 1911. Includes only those books not sent in for audit.] 



No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 




£ s. d. 




£ s. d. 




£ s. 


d. 




£ s. d. 




£ s. d. 


322 


1 10 


450 


1 


591 


1 19 


11 


731 


12 6 


871 


1 19 3 


326 


1 


453 


10 5 


592 


1 


7 


733 


3 


872 


3 16 


328 


5 3 5 


454 


1 11 


596 


5 





734 


3 1 4 


875 


1 1 


329 


4 6 


455 


11 


599 


3 


7 


736 


3 


877 


1 


330 


2 13 9 


457 


12 6 


600 


1 


1 


739 


1 


879 


1 7 


334 


5 3 4 


459 


16 15 9 


601 


7 


9 


740 


2 3 


880 


2 6 


335 


16 8 


460 


15 6 


606 


6 7 


7 


742 


7 7 


881 


12 16 1 


339 


8 5 3 


463 


3 10 3 


607 


4 6 


7 


744 


1 6 


884 


2 6 


341 


15 7 


464 


1 10 


608 


5 


1 


746 


5 7 


888 


2 


343 


9 6 


465 


1 6 


612 


4 17 


1 


747 


1 8 


892 


11 2 


344 


3 9 


467 


1 2 


613 


2 





748 


1 6 


893 


1 1 


345 


2 7 


469 


9 10 


614 


1 


3 


749 


11 


895 


2 7 


346 


12 10 


471 


5 6 


615 


2 4 


5 


750 


5 10 


896 


5 1 


347 


5 


472 


10 10 


616 


7 


1 


752 


3 11 


898 


1 10 


349 


5 


475 


11 1 


617 


6 


3 


753 


2 6 


900 


4 15 11 


350 


1 


476 


4 5 


620 


6 


2 


754 


1 


901 


2 7 


352 


2 


480 


4 19 10 


622 


8 


1 


755 


2 3 8 


904 


7 


353 


1 1 


484 


3 6 


624 


11 9 


4 


757 


11 9 


906 


10 2 


354 


2 4 


486 


6 


626 


3 1 


4 


758 


1 3 


907 


7 6 


358 


10 


487 


8 13 8 


627 


3 1 


4 


760 


6 11 


908 


15 1 


359 


4 5 4 


488 


2 3 


628 


1 





761 


4 6 9 


910 


1 8 


360 


2 10 9 


490 


3 12 6 


629 


7 


1 


766 


2 10 


912 


9 


361 


7 5 8 


491 


2 


630 


15 





770 


1 10 9 


914 


5 10 


363 


11 4 


493 


1 6 


632 


3 


4 


771 


1 


915 


5 9 11 


364 


1 


494 


4 9 


634 


1 


6 


772 


3 9 


916 


3 1 


365 


1 7 


495 


2 


636 


2 


5 


773 


1 7 1 


917 


117 


366 


9 4 


496 


4 


637 


4 


6 


774 


5 


918 


10 4 


368 


10 


498 


2 10 4 


638 


3 


6 


777 


10 1 


920 


8 


372 


7 8 4 


501 


5 6 


639 


1 





779 


4 11 9 


923 


7 


373 


1 5 


503 


10 


640 


2 5 





780 


2 1 


925 


8 2 4 


375 


10 1 


504 


1 3 


642 


3 3 


8 


781 


7 5 


927 


12 1 


376 


2 


505 


4 9 


647 


1 4 


7 


782 


3 4 


931 


3 11 


378 


2 8 


507 


10 


648 


2 17 


6 


783 


5 5 


937 


1 


380 


4 


510 


1 11 9 


653 


1 


1 


787 


1 4 


938 


7 7 


381 


10 7 


511 


5 


656 


1 


3 


788 


15 9 


940 


2 2 


383 


1 2 


513 


1 6 


658 


2 19 


2 


790 


1 


941 


1 9 


385 


1 10 


519 


15 1 


661 


12 





792 


1 


945 


4 7 


387 


4 11 


520 


16 19 8 


662 


5 


4 


794 


2 3 


955 


2 


388 


10 1 


523 


15 11 


663 


7 





795 


10 


956 


14 3 


391 


1 6 


526 


1 


669 


1 


6 


796 


1 


958 


. 14 8 


392 


4 8 11 


528 


14 


672 


7 14 


9 


797 


1 


961 


1 


393 


5 


530 


7 


674 


7 13 


6 


801 


3 6 


962 


1 6 


397 


3 7 


534 


1 6 


676 


1 


7 


803 


2 7 5 


963 


1 9 


401 


2 3 


536 


3 


679 


1 2 


2 


805 


7 6 


964 


1 


402 


4 3 


537 


2 10 


680 


6 


2 


806 


1 


968 


9 9 


405 


11 8 


539 


3 4 8 


681 


6 





808 


15 3 


971 


3 


406 


1 16 7 


540 


2 13 8 


682 


15 


4 


809 


3 4 


973 


5 2 


407 


11 


542 


17 11 


683 


1 


9 


812 


3 


975 


10 


408 


1 13 7 


544 


9 5 


684 


1 





813 


1 4 


979 


1 2 


409 


110 


545 


1 2 


686 


2 


6 


814 


13 2 


980 


4 


410 


3 17 5 


547 


2 


688 


11 





815 


5 6 


983 


2 4 


411 


3 1 


549 


1 


689 


1 





816 


2 3 


985 


14 1 


412 


12 1 


550 


1 11 


690 


1 


6 


817 


2 


986 


15 3 


413 


3 6 


552 


2 8 


692 


10 1 


8 


821 


2 3 


988 


14 7 9 


414 


16 3 


555 


1 


694 


1 15 


6 


822 


3 


989 


1 8 


416 


3 9 


556 


1 11 


696 


1 14 


2 


824 


1 


990 


5 9 


417 


10 2 


558 


9 


697 


1 


7 


825 


11 3 


994 


13 1 


418 


1 


560 


3 11 


699 


1 


8 


826 


1 17 1 


997 


2 5 8 


420 


1 1 


561 


3 


700 


1 1 


5 


834 


10 9 


998 


4 18 10 


423 


2 10 


562 


14 


702 


1 





836 


2 


1000 


2 6 


424 


3 5 


563 


1 


703 


11 





837 


1 


1001 


13 9 


426 


3 6 


564 


1 6 


704 


1 13 


3 


839 


1 4 


1002 


5 10 


427 


7 


565 


5 1 


705 


19 


2 


841 


3 18 8 


1003 


2 6 


428 


2 


566 


1 1 


706 


8 





843 


1 3 


1004 


1 5 1 


429 


2 1 


568 


15 1 


708 


6 


6 


844 


3 6 


1008 


6 6 


432 


1 6 


570 


3 12 9 


709 


12 


3 


846 


3 9 


1009 


1 7 


433 


6 2 


571 


3 3 


710 


2 


3 


848 


2 6 


1010 


1 


435 


3 16 4 


574 


5 5 


712 


13 


3 


852 


14 6 


1014 


10 5 


436 


2 4 


577 


2 7 


717 


1 


10 


853 


4 


1015 


14 8 


437 


9 10 


578 


2 1 


719 


15 





854 


4 


1017 


1 


438 


10 9 


579 


3 


720 


2 


2 


855 


1 8 


1018 


3 7 


440 


2 


580 


3 3 8 


722 


2 


6 


857 


4 4 


1024 


4 10 


441 


3 1 11 


581 


3 5 3 


723 


2 4 





858 


1 1 


1025 


2 


442 


8 11 9 


582 


6 3 


724 


4 


6 


860 


2 4 


1026 


1 7 


443 


4 8 


584 


3 14 


725 


2 9 


9 


862 


3 


1027 


10 2 


444 


16 5 


585 


1 1 


726 


4 5 


8 


866 


15 8 


1029 


1 13 9 


445 


1 2 


588 


1 


727 


4 4 


5 


867 


10 2 


1030 


3 8 


448 


10 10 


590 


2 8 


728 


1 


6 


870 


18 1 


1032 


1 



34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 6 



82 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



Penny Bank Claims — Continued. 
[Over Is., as at July 11, 1911. Includes only those books not sent in for audit.] 



No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 




£ s. d. 




£ s. d. 




£ g. d. 




£ s. d. 




£g.d. 


1038 


3 5 


1182 


2 1 


1353 


2 10 5 


1512 


6 4 


1662 


7 9 


1040 


2 3 


1183 


2 3 


1357 


15 6 


1513 


1 


1664 


7 6 


1041 


2 4 


1189 


9 


1359 


2 


1519 


3 2 


1666 


15 6 


1042 


4 3 


1191 


4 6 


1361 


3 10 


1520 


6 6 


1667 


15 3 


1043 


4 7 


1194 


3 8 


1371 


1 


1526 


15 1 


1668 


15 3 


1045 


6 16 


1195 


9 16 1 


1374 


9 9 


1528 


117 


1669 


10 2 


1046 


4 10 


1196 


2 6 


1376 


6 1 


1530 


11 6 


1670 


3 17 


1049 


2 2 4 


1197 


1 9 


1378 


2 1 


1531 


1 4 


1671 


3 7 


1050 


1 


1198 


3 


1380 


7 


1533 


1 5 


1674 


5 18 5 


1051 


1 


1204 


2 8 


1381 


1 


1535 


5 9 


1677 


4 


1052 


2 


1207 


2 1 1 


1383 


15 8 


1536 


3 3 


1678 


1 4 2 


1053 


5 6 


1211 


2 


1384 


3 6 


1538 


1 9 


1680 


2 6 


1054 


1 2 


1212 


2 2 9 


1387 


11 2 


1539 


1 1 


1681 


1 


1055 


2 11 4 


1213 


3 7 1 


1389 


5 


1540 


1 6 


1683 


15 


1056 


1 10 10 


1216 


10 


1390 


1 15 10 


1542 


15 3 


1684 


3 


1057 


4 4 10 


1219 


1 3 


1393 


3 3 


1544 


10 


1686 


3 


1059 


1 


1222 


3 9 


1396 


4 1 


1545 


1 11 9 


1687 


2 15 5 


1060 


1 


1223 


9 6 


1399 


2 A 


1546 


1 2 


1688 


7 


1061 


1 7 


1226 


4 6 


1400 


4 3 


1547 


2 1 


1693 


1 1 


1064 


% 1 


1229 


10 2i 


1401 


6 


1548 


12 3 


1695 


16 8 


1065 


15 


1235 


1 


1402 


16 2 


1550 


1 3 


1699 


1 


1066 


1 10 


1237 


9 8 


1404 


6 7 11 


1551 


2 3 


1700 


3 13 3 


1067 


2 1 


1239 


4 10 


1407 


3 11 


1552 


1 


1701 


3 


1068 


1 6 


1240 


2 7 


1410 


5 10 


1553 


6 9 10 


1703 


2 


1069 


14 2 


1241 


1 


1411 


11 


1554 


1 2 


1704 


14 7 


1070 


2 6 


1242 


5 5 


1412 


15 10 


1556 


3 7 


1707 


4 6 


1073 


11 4 


1243 


6 


1414 


12 1 


1557 


18 2 


712 


3 


1074 


4 17 


1244 


4 1 


1415 


7 6 


1560 


3 12 2 


1717 


5 


1076 


10 


1247 


10 5 


1417 


3 


1561 


9 8 


1718 


4 


1080 


1 6 10 


1249 


12 


1418 


1 1 9 


1564 


2 2 5 


1723 


12 


1081 


10 4 


1250 


11 5 


1419 


2 6 


1566 


3 


1725 


1 


1085 


1 8 


1251 


10 


1420 


1 


1567 


1 18 10 


1726 


1 1 


1087 


5 


1252 


16 10 


1421 


5 


1568 


14 


1729 


1 3 


1090 


8 2 


1254 


2 


1424 


9 11 


1569 


1 16 5 


1730 


1 3 


1092 


1 8 4 


1255 


1 4 


1426 


3 10 


1573 


5 


1733 


1 4 2 


1093 


1 12 1 


1258 


1 7 


1427 


1 3 


1574 


5 11 


1735 


2 3 


1095 


11 6 


1261 


1 1 


1428 


12 14 8 


1576 


1 6 


1739 


4 3 


1098 


2 16 


1263 


1 


1429 


2 16 4 


1577 


1 11 6 


1740 


3 1 


1099 


9 5 


1264 


1 


1430 


2 2 


1580 


1 5 


1741 


1 8 


1100 


12 9 


1266 


2 8 


1434 


5 1 


1583 


19 5 


1742 


2 4 


1102 


1 8 


1267 


7 7 


1435 


1 8 


1587 


2 7 


1743 


10 2 


1103 


2 2 


1269 


4 


1436 


1 8 7 


1588 


10 3 


1745 


18 2 


1104 


2 4 


1270 


4 3 


1440 


14 3 8 


1589 


5 


1747 


6 2 


1106 


18 2 


1274 


4 6 


1441 


6 2 


1592 


7 8 


1748 


8 5 


1108 


1 10 


1275 


6 


1442 


11 


1593 


8 


1749 


5 1 


1109 


5 7 


1276 


2 


1446 


3 6 


1595 


11 1 


1750 


7 8 


1110 


1 12 1 


1277 


11 2 


1447 


9 1 


1598 


1 6 


1751 


7 8 


1112 


3 


1279 


17 8 


1448 


5 2 8 


1600 


1 1 


1752 


7 8 


1114 


9 7 


1280 


19 1 


1449 


1 2 


1605 


5 


1753 


1 3 


1118 


4 15 


1281 


1 


1450 


1 8 


1606 


3 


1759 


2 10 2 


1120 


1 7 


1284 


18 2 


1452 


11 8 


1607 


1 7 


1761 


15 10 


1128 


1 15 5 


1285 


7 


1453 


17 6 


1609 


2 9 


1764 


3 3 3 


1130 


i4 11 


1288 


2 16 10 


1459 


3 11 10 


1611 


1 15 5 


1766 


1 10 2 


1131 


2 


1290 


1 8 2 


1460 


1 1 


1612 


2 15 2 


1768 


2 6 


1132 


1 2 


1291 


2 4 


1463 


1 10 


1613 


2 10 


1769 


10 1 


1133 


1 8 


1292 


1 1 


1464 


1 9 


1614 


2 


1772 


1 1 


1134 


1 9 


1295 


8 7 


1466 


1 13 7 


1616 


1 18 3 


1773 


2 4 


1139 


1 2 


1296 


5 2 2 


1467 


2 8 


1619 


3 10 3 


- 1774 


15 7 


1141 


2 2 


1297 


5 2 2 


1468 


4 6 


1620 


2 6 


1775 


3 


1143 


12 2 


1298 


7 6 


1469 


10 6 


1621 


1 3 


1776 


6 


1146 


13 1 


1303 


1 8 2 


1472 


10 2 


1624 


11 8 


1777 


1 


1147 


2 6 7 


1307 


1 I 9 


1473 


8 6 


1628 


2 8 


1781 


4 9 


1148 


2 6 6 


1308 


5 


1474 


6 6 10 


1629 


3 


1782 


3 


1151 


5 9 


1309 


2 3 


1477 


4 6 


1632 


2 2 


1783 


& 3 


1152 


8 13 


1313 


1 5 


1478 


12 4 


1637 


10 4 


1784 


2 14 


1154 


2 14 


1314 


7 2 


1479 


1 


1639 


14 2 


1765 


3 3 6 


1158 


4 7 


1316 


1 16 9 


1480 


2 


1640 


14 3 


1786 


6 


1160 


6 11 2 


1317 


1 1 


1482 


3 14 6 


1641 


15 6 


1787 


1 Q 


1162 


6 


1320 


3 12 1 


1484 


3 


1642 


10 2 


1789 


10 2 


1168 


2 8 9 


1326 


1 1 10 


1485 


1 


1647 


6 


1792 


3 


1169 


6 2 


1327 


6 3 


1489 


1 


1648 


5 6 


1794 


10 2 


1172 


12 


1329 


2 9 


1495 


1 


1650 


1 7 10 


1795 


8 


1173 


6 6 


1331 


1 1 


1496 


6 


1651 


1 10 


1798 


3 3 


1174 


3 11 


1333 


1 


1499 


1 10 6 


1652 


10 5 


1801 


9 1 


1175 


1 


1337 


1 16 5 


1502 


2 4 9 


1654 


8 


1806 


3 4 10 


1176 


1 4 


1344 


11 3 


1503 


3 


1656 


4 


1807 


4 4 


1177 


1 


1346 


3 1 


1509 


6 


1658 


16 


1808 


5 6 


1180 


9 13 2 


1350 


2 5 


1511 


6 3 


1659 


10 


1810 


3 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



83 



Penny Bank, Claims — Continued. 

[Over Is., as at July 11 1911. Includes only those books not sent in for audit.] 



No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount. 


No. 


Amount 


No. 


Amount. 




£ s. 


d. 




£ s. d. 




£ s. d. 




£ s. d. 




£ s.d. 


1811 


3 





1831 


13 6 


1846 


1 


1870 


14 


55 


8 


1812 


8 


4 


1832 


10 1 


1848 


9 


1871 


11 


64 


26 19 5 


1815 


1 


5 


1834 


5 


1850 


17 


3 


203 6 8 


65 


196 7 7 


1816 


8 


4 


1835 


3 2 


1852 


7 


24 


9 6 4 


68 


10 4 2 


1818 


8 





1836 


4 3 


1859 


5 3 


34 


8 4 


70 


10 2 


1819 


1 10 


2 


1838 


10 1 


1861 


3 5 


35 


1 11 


71 


22 3 6 


1S20 


1 6 





1839 


1 


1864 


1 


36 


74 4 


73 


18 7 


1823 


1 


1 


1840 


3 6 


1865 


4 6 


37 


7 15 11 


74 


9 15 7 


1824 


13 


7 


1843 


10 2 


1868 


6 6 


49 


15 15 10 


76 


12 4 


1826 


1 7 


1 


1845 


1 


1869 


7 


54 


26 9 







Dividend at 1 shilling 10 pence in the pound sterling, subject to the approval 
of the quarterly meeting, will be paid at Central (all members) on Wednesday, 
November 15, at new offices, 162 Walton Road (entrance Christopher Street), 
from 10.30 a. m. to 12 noon and 2.30 to 4.30 p. m. ; also on Friday, November 
11, from 2.30 to 4.30 p. m. only. Everton, on Thursday, November 16, at 285 
Breck Road, from 10.30 to 11.30 a. m. Bootle, on Thursday, November 16, at 
317 Stanley Road, from 2.30 to 4.30 p. m. Walton, on Friday, November 17, 
at 207 Rice Lane, from 10.30 to 11.30 a. m. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE. 

Members must attend personally or send letter of authority signed by them- 
selves and are requested not to send children under 16 years of age to draw 
the dividend. 

Receipt for share book must be produced as proof of title. 

Only the last quarter's dividend can be withdrawn on above dates, and mem- 
bers wishing to draw more than one quarter's dividend are requested to apply 
at office during following week. Members holding less than £1 share capital 
must leave 2 shillings dividend each quarter to make up £1 share. 



Appendix No. 4. 
CITY OF LIVERPOOL EQUITABLE COOPERATIVE SOCIETY (LTD.). 

[162, Walton Road, Liverpool.] 

Information for New Members. 

[Issued by the educational committee.] 

It is with pleasure we welcome you to membership of our society. Its rapid 
growth in recent years proves that the benefits of cooperation are becoming 
widely recognized ; and we think it will interest you to know how your business 
is carried on, and the important part that you, as members, should take in your 
society. 

OUR TRADING METHODS. 

The society is not a philanthropic institution; it does not give something for 
nothing. Neither is it an ordinary limited company. The ordinary limited com- 
pany consists of a number of people who have put their capital together to form 
a business to supply goods to the public (in many cases without regard to the 
conditions of labor), and the profit on the trade of the public is returned to the 
shareholders. Cooperators say, " If well-to-do people have a right to join to- 
gether in limited companies to make profit for themselves out of the trade of the 
public, then working people have every right to establish cooperative societies 
to supply goods to themselves and to divide the profits on their own trade." 



84 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

YOUR BUSINESS. 

It is an important fact to be remembered, that the cooperative society does 
not belong to a few individuals, but to the whole of the members, as the capital 
for carrying on the business is provided by the share deposits of each member. 
Goods are purchased on wholesale terms, by competent buyers, for each depart- 
ment, and these goods are sold in the shops to the members at current prices 
without adulteration, cutting of prices, or sweating of employees. The accounts 
are made up quarterly, and, after the working expenses have been met, the 
profits ar« divided, in proportion to the trade each member has done with 
the society. Thus you get the dividend on your purchases according to the 
support you have given to the society's business, because you are a part owner 
of the business that supplies your requirements. Though cooperative societies 
in different localities may have different rules, yet this principle is the same in 
all cases. 

HOW THE SOCIETY IS CONTROLLED. 

Each man or woman holding fl share in the society is entitled to vote at the 
society's business meetings, which are held quarterly, and by your vote and 
action at these meetings you can influence the work of the society. A voting 
card can be had on application to office. The members at quarterly meeting 
elect the management committee from their own body. 

THE MANAGEMENT OF THE BUSINESS. 

The management committee are empowered by the members to arrange for 
the purchase of land, buildings, machinery, horses, vehicles, etc., and the open- 
ing of stores and departments as required for the carrying on of the society's 
business. They also appoint a general manager and secretary to supervise the 
business, and managers and other employees are also engaged for the various 
stores and departments. Thus the business is controlled by your management 
committee on behalf of the members, and if there is anything about which you 
are not satisfied write to the manager or committee at once. A balance sheet 
is published a few days previous to the quarterly meeting giving details of the 
business operations of the society, so that members may study it and be in a 
position to discuss it at the quarterly meeting, if desired. If you have an 
opinion to express, don't be afraid of doing so. Fair discussion of cooperative 
methods and principles is welcome, especially if it is brief and to the point. 
Any suggestion for improving the work of the society should be sent in writing 
to the management committee for consideration. The knowledge of business 
gained in the cooperative movement has proved a splendid training for many 
people now taking part in public affairs. 

COOPERATIVE GOODS 

are pure and unadulterated, being manufactured in cooperative mills, work- 
shops, and factories, which are fitted with modern appliances, in order that the 
goods produced shall be well made and fit for the members' use. The workers 
are paid trade union wages, in many cases more, and there is no sweating, a 
large proportion of the factories working 48 hours per week. 

COOPERATIVE BENEFITS. 

This is your business, and you will make it stronger by giving it all your 
trade and persuading your friends to join. As the late Mr. G. J. Holyoake, the 
well-known social reformer, said : " Look upon the stores as your child, clothe 
it with custom, and feed it with trade." The more you trade the greater your 
profit, and the more people will you employ under good conditions of labor. 
The dividend on your purchases can be withdrawn, or left in the society to 
accumulate for future family needs or the proverbial rainy day. 

SOCIAL INTERCOURSE 

is provided in various ways. An educational committee fs elected from the 
members in the same way as the management committee, and 2| per cent of the 
profits is allotted for the provision of educational and recreative influences, 
such as concerts, lectures, singing classes, choirs, cooperative literature, etc. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 85 

There is also a women's guild and men's guild, which meet every week for the 
purpose of discussing cooperative and other matters, socials being held period- 
ically. All men and women are cordially invited to join the guilds. Notices of 
meetings, etc., appear each month in our local magazine, the Wheatsheaf, which 
can be obtained free of charge at any of our stores. 

YOU CAN HELP 

to spread the benefits of cooperation among the people of Liverpool. Every man 
and every woman can be a cooperative missionary, and we ask you to assist in 
drawing the people into the cooperative movement, whose object is the general 
well-being of its members. 



MANCHESTER CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

Amekican Consulate, 
Manchester, England, November 22, 1911. 

About the year 1863 the cooperative societies then in existence in this dis- 
trict experienced difficulty in obtaining supplies, so a federation of societies 
was registered in order to purchase, wholesale, and distribute the goods to its 
members. This federation, now known as the Cooperative Wholesale Society, 
with its central offices situated in this city, has entered into various forms of 
production, and the society is now probably the largest industrial venture in 
the United Kingdom. 

Since 1844, whenever cooperators argued the justice of communal ownership 
of the means of production and distribution of domestic requirements, they did 
better work than they knew, because for every cooperator they made, they 
made three municipal reformers. The great advance in municipalization of 
water supply, gas, electricity, and tramways was made easy by the collective 
and united action preached and practiced by cooperators. 

Every customers in a cooperative store is, or may become, a part owner of 
the business. By paying $4.86 down, or agreeing to pay it by installments, 
anyone may become a member, entitled to receive a fair rate of interest on 
their capital, full dividend on purchases, and a voice in the management of 
the affairs of the society. In addition, membership of a retail store makes 
one a part owner of the Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.). 

As stated in its rules, the objects of the Cooperative Wholesale Society are 
to carry on the trades or businesses of wholesale dealers, bankers, shippers, 
carriers, manufacturers, merchants, cultivators of land, workers of mines, and 
insurers of persons and property. This illustates how cooperators have car- 
ried into practical effect this sentence occurring in the first prospectus of the 
society in 1863, viz, " The object of the society is to bring the producer and the 
consumer of commodities nearer to each other, and thus secure for the working 
classes those profits that have hitherto enriched only the individual." 

Membership of the Cooperative Wholesale Society is open only to societies 
and companies registered under the British industrial and provident societies 
■act, or the companies act, subject to admission by the general committee and 
sanctioned by a general meeting of delegates. In actual fact, the members of 
the Cooperative Wholesale Society are retail distributive societies, with a few 
productive societies. No individual can be a member in respect of holding 
shares or making purchases from the society. Each society becoming a member 
of the Cooperative Wholesale Society has to take up one $24.33 share for each 
five of its own members, which gives a uniform distribution of share capital 
of $4.86 per head of the membership of the shareholding societies. 

The system of representation is about the most equitable that could have 
been devised, each society having one vote for every 500 and part of 500 
members it possesses. This gives even the smallest societies one vote, while 
a society with, say 8,700 members, would be entitled to 18 votes in elections 
and to send 18 delegates to quarterly meetings. 

The management is vested in a general committee of 32. All members of 
committees are elected for two years, and are eligible for reelection. 

After the expenses of management, depreciation, and interest at fixed rates 
on share and loan capital have been paid, the remaining profits are divided 
among the members in proportion to their trade, after such sums as the quar- 
terly meeting may determine have been put aside for reserve fund, charitable 
donations, and grants to relief funds. 



86 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



Cash trading is a fundamental principle of the Cooperative Wholesale Society, 
both in buying and selling. 

The bulk of the general trade of the Cooperative Wholesale Society is done in 
goods bought by the society's buyers at home and abroad, and distributed to 
the retail societies from its warehouses, or, in the case of very large consign- 
ments of certain articles, sent direct to the retail society from the manufacturer 
or port where landed. 

One general principle runs through all the purchasing done by the societies' 
buyers, namely, to go direct to the source of production, whether at home or 
abroad so as to save the commissions of middlemen and agents. 

The total amount of the goods imported direct by the Cooperative Wholesale 
Society from foreign countries in the 12 months ended December, 1909, was 
$34,445,077. The chief items that go to make up this total are as follows: 



Articles. 



Imported from — 



Value. 



Sugar, bacon, lard, wheat, and canned goods 

Tallow 

Sugar, flour, boots, furnishing goods 

Cheese, bacon, butter, leather 

Butter, bacon, eggs 

Sugar, dried fruit, fancy drapery, and furnishing goods 

Sugar, green fruit, eggs, fancy goods 

Dried fruit 

Rice, cheese, yeast, and margarine 

Butter, eggs, and timber 



America 

Australia 

Austria 

Canada 

Denmark 

France 

Germany 

Greece and Turkey 

Holland , 

Sweden 



$6,381,709 

537,787 

2,164,794 

1,937,606 

17,183,144 

410,489 

1,610,636 

1,016,631 

646,353 

2,028,006 



In the opinion of one of the leading officials of the Cooperative Union (Ltd.), 
cooperation has most decidedly reduced the cost of living. 

It is asserted that cooperative societies do not cut prices, but generally 
supply the members with commodities at the ruling market prices in the dis- 
trict, and the surplus is returned periodically to the members in the form of 
bonus or dividend, which in the ordinary course of business would have gone 
to swell the profits of the individual trader. Therefore, it is argued, com- 
modities are cheapened to the extent of the amount of bonus or dividend paid, 
which will probably average 10 to 15 per cent. 

The attitude of cooperative societies toward noncooperative stores is practi- 
cally neutral, and the societies do not compete in the strict sense of the term, 
but supply goods at the prices ruling in the district. 

There are, of course, exceptions, as for instance, a small village which has 
no shop, a few miles from a town. Traders from the adjacent town deliver 
goods in the village, sometimes at excessive prices. Immediately a cooperative 
society has been commenced the prices of the traders have consequently been 
reduced, thus showing m such instances cooperation has reduced the cost of 
living. 

Cooperation in its present form (which is known as the Rochdale system) — 
that is, dividing the surplus between the members in proportion to the amount 
of their purchases, was commenced in 1844. Since then cooperative societies 
have been formed all over the world on similar lines. 

The wholesale manufacturers and dealers, as a rule, are anxious to supply 
cooperative societies because of the reliability of the stores and the prompt 
payment of accounts. 

The wholesale society purchases direct from the manufacturer in the best 
markets, and brings together the producer and the consumer, because the 
Cooperative Wholesale Society is owned by the distributive societies. Many 
of the latter purchase 90 to 95 per cent of their commodities through the whole- 
sale society. 

The importance of the Cooperative Wholesale Society is shown in the follow- 
ing figures, which give the statistical position of the concern at the year ended 
December 31, 1909 : 

Share capital (paid up) $8,065,274 

Loans and deposits 15, 946, 221 

Reserve and insurance 6, 122, 835 

Sales for the year 1909 124,951,952 

Net profits for the year 1909 2, 672, 097 

The general attitude of the ordinary retail storekeeper toward the coopera- 
tive store is one of uncompromising hostility. He sees in the offer of the 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 87 

cooperative society of a bonus of from 10 to 15 per cent on gross purchases an 
allurement which becomes a serious menace to his business, he being unable to 
quote, in many instances, lower prices than the cooperative stores are selling at. 

As an instance how the cooperative stores dominate the situation, I would 
mention that during the recent labor disturbances in the Manchester district 
the milk supply could only be obtained from the farms, etc., at extra cost. 

The local milk dealers in one of the working class centers of the city, 
although they were practically selling, with a margin barely covering expenses, 
were prevented from raising prices 1 cent per quart, on account of the coopera- 
tive stores doing a good business in the same district, and refusing to increase 
prices or come into line with the other retailers. 

There is a private limited liability company registered in Manchester — the 
Household Stores Association (Ltd.) — which has been established to provide 
the means of purchasing articles of daily household use and consumption of 
the best quality and supplying them at strictly moderate prices. 

The company is not worked upon the cooperative or Rochdale system, the 
association being open to the general public, with no subscription or membership 
fee required. 

This association supplies goods at a reduced rate, and this is made possible 
by the concern being able to buy very largely in the cheapest markets for all 
the requirements of their 36 separate departments or businesses. There is also 
an important saving in the item of rents and management expenses. 

The association was formed in 1872 and have practically been able to pay a 
dividend of 10 per cent to the shareholders throughout the period. 

With the bulk of the association's customers consisting of the middle and 
well-to-do classes, many of them shareholders, generally speaking, the cost of 
living has not been to any appreciable extent affected. 

Church Howe, Consul. 



BELFAST, IRELAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

American Consulate, 
Belfast, Ireland, November 28, 1911. 

DISTRIBUTIVE SOCIETIES. 

The inception of the cooperative movement in this consular district goes back 
about half a century, but the societies then started, with one or two very small 
exceptions, are not now in existence. Of the societies now in active operation, 
the Lisburn Cooperative Society was established in 1882, the Belfast Coopera- 
tive Society in 1889, the Portadown Society in 1897, and, since 1900, societies 
at Armagh, Coalisland, Keady, Lame, Ballymena, Newtownards, and Ennis- 
killen. 

Where societies have been established in rural villages and towns it may be 
taken generally that there has been a feeling among consumers that the local 
traders were overcharging for goods, that they were curtailing privileges pre- 
viously allowed to customers, and that the formation of traders' association or 
informal understandings arrived at by local traders were with a view to limit- 
ing competition among themselves. This feeling has contributed largely to the 
successful formation of societies by artisans and laborers in these towns. 

In most instances the growth of these societies has been very gradual. In 
many of them the membership has been almost stationary for the past few 
years — due possibly to general trade depression — but there are now indications 
of a quicker development. 

Each society is a self-contained unit, registered under the industrial and 
provident societies act, which confers certain advantages legally along with cer- 
tain obligations. The control of each society is in the hands of a management 
committee elected by the members at quarterly meetings, one-fourth of the 
committee retiring each quarter. The committee employs a manager, who has 
charge of the buying and the general working of the business. The committee 
presents a quarterly report to the members, showing details of trade done, 
expenses, and profits earned. 

About 13 years ago the Irish Cooperative Conference Association was formed 
by the four or five societies then existing in the north of Ireland. This associ- 
ation, on a purely voluntary basis, was to promote closer relationship among 
the societies, carry on a propaganda work where there was an opening for the 
formation of a society, and discuss matters of mutual importance to the mem- 



88 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

bers. The meetings are held quarterly, each society sending delegates in pro* 
portion to its own membership. The association has no trading connections 
whatever, but it has had a very great influence in promoting the extension of 
the movement throughout the whole of Ireland, in cultivating a friendly feeling 
between the agricultural and the distributive societies — which work along sepa- 
rate lines — and on the policy and methods of working of its members. By its 
connection with the Cooperative Union of Great Britain it controls the work 
of propaganda in Ireland for distributive cooperation, and it has an agent de- 
voting the whole of his time to the establishment of new societies and advising 
those already in existence where difficulties of any kind arise. 

The methods of trading adopted by the societies, at first, is to purchase from 
the cooperative wholesale societies or from ordinary wholesale dealers the usual 
domestic supplies most in demand by working-class members; i. e., groceries, 
provisions, chandlery, oil, and the commoner useful hardware. The relation- 
ship of the distributive societies to the wholesale federations is that of share- 
holding and trading membership, but the trading is scarcely ever exclusively 
with the wholesale society. Each retail society takes shares in proportion to 
its own individual membership, and profits on each society's trading are cred- 
ited to its share account in proportion to its trade with the wholesale, after a 
fixed rate of interest on capital has been allocated. In the case of independent 
wholesalers the societies have with them merely the ordinary relation of buyer 
and seller. 

Many societies buy directly from the producer, and a typical example of 
method may be taken in the case of the supply of butter by a creamery society 
to a distributive society, either in bulk, in special boxes, or made up in 1-pound 
and J-pound packages, and sent by rail at regular intervals. This is paid for 
at intervals at some mutually agreed-on rate, usually bearing some settled rela- 
tion to Manchester or other market rate. 

In most cases the goods are selected and purchased by the manager, and ac- 
counts when certified by him are submitted to the committee of the society 
weekly or fortnightly, who pay them by check on their bankers. 

Goods bought at retail by members from the societies are, with some societies, 
paid for in cash on or before delivery. In other cases weekly accounts are run 
by some members, and these are usually limited to a sum covered by the share 
capital belonging to the member. Goods are sold over the counter, and in some 
cases orders of members are collected at intervals and the goods are delivered 
by van. Five per cent on share capital is usually paid out of the profits and 
the balance divided according to the amounts purchased. (Rochdale method.) 

The attitude of the societies toward noncooperative stores is practically one 
of indifference, and the attitude of private dealers, retail and wholesale, is 
much the same. The cooperative movement naturally is disliked by the pri- 
vate dealers, and occasionally some of them refuse to do business with the so- 
cieties; but these are exceptions, and arise rather from doubt as to the credit 
of the society than on any principle involved. 

The degree to which the cooperative movement has reduced the cost of living 
is problematical, and can be measured only by rough averages taken over a 
number of years. On this point Mr. W. M. Knox, president of the Belfast Co- 
operative Society and secretary of the Irish Cooperative Conference Association, 
informs this consulate as follows: 

" Local trade conditions vary somewhat from those in England and Scotland ; 
prices are a little lower, on the average, and expenses of working are rather 
higher. It may be taken generally, on a careful and moderate computation, 
that the saving to the consumer by the cooperative system is from 5 per cent to 
71 per cent in the cost of the bulk of his domestic supplies. The profits cal- 
culated on the share capital employed would be about from 40 to 60 per cent. 

"A very important consideration in connection with this point is a genera] 
effect on the prices in a district by the establishment of a cooperative society. 
We have had the experience again and again that the formation of a society 
has brought down prices generally to the consumer and prevented artificial 
raising of prices by combination or understanding among independent traders, 
so that not only the cooperative members have benefited by the movement, but 
the community generally. Besides these pecuniary advantages the movement 
develops a thrifty spirit in its members, promotes independence, arouses a 
sense of responsibility, and provides considerable experience in administrative 
work." 

The largest cooperative distributive society in Ireland, and the most varied 
in its work, is the Belfast Cooperative Society (Ltd.). Founded in 1889 with 



COOPERATION" AND THE COST OE LIVING. 



89 



217 members, and a share capital of £308 ($1,498.88), it had grown, in 1910, to 
a membership of 7,000 and a share capital of £48,786 ($237,417.06). In 1889 
its trade amounted to £2,367 ($11,519), and its profits were £59 ($287.12) ; in 
1910 its trade amounted to £199,604 ($971,372.86), and its profits were £19.056 
($92,736.02). The last quarterly report of the society (Sept. 4, 1911,) shows a 
membership of 8,300, a share capital of £62,647 3s. 4|d. ($304,872.33), quarterly 
sales of £58,424 8s. 6d. ($284,324.47), and profits for the quarter of £5,048 17s. 
lO^d. ($24,570.35), out of which there was paid on members' purchases a divi- 
dend of Is. 6d. ($0,365) on the pound sterling ($4.8665), 9d. ($0.18) on the 
pound ($4.8665) on nonmembers' purchases, and a bonus of Is. 6d. ($0,365) on 
the pound ($4.8665) on wages of employees. Of purchases by the society 
during the quarter, 72 per cent were from cooperative sources and 63 per cent 
from Irish sources. 

The Belfast Cooperative Society deals in groceries, drapery, millinery, cloth- 
ing, hardware, boots and shoes, furniture, house furnishings, and coal. Affili- 
ated with it is a branch bakery, owned by a federation of Scotch and Irish 
societies. (United Cooperative Baking Society.) For milk, meat, fish, poultry, 
cutlery, drugs, etc., in which the society xioes not deal, and for dentistry and 
medical attendance, arrangements are made with certain firms and individuals 
in Belfast to furnish these things to the society's members at current rates 
and take in payment the tokens of the company for the amount due. On these 
indirect purchases the usual dividend is paid. All goods are sold by the so- 
ciety as by these outside dealers at current rates. 

Since 1901 2| per cent of the net profit has been set aside quarterly to be 
expended in providing literature, music, recreation, lectures, and education for 
the members and employees. 

In 1909 there was established a mutual assurance fund, provided by quar- 
terly allocations out of the profits not exceeding 1 penny (2 cents) in the pound 
($4.8665) on sales. By this fund each member of the society is assured auto- 
matically without regard to age or other conditions except length of member- 
ship, in a sum equal to 4s. ($0.97) on the pound on a year's average purchases 
taken over the previous three years. 

The other cooperative societies in this consular district work along the same 
general lines as the Belfast society, but they do not all confer upon their mem- 
bers the same social and educational advantages or provide an assurance fund. 

Of the 15 distributive societies operating^in Ireland, 10 are in the Province of 
Ulster, this consular district. 

Statistics of distributive societies in Ulster Province, 1910. 



Armagh. 



Ballymena. 



Coal 
Island. 



Belfast. 



Ennis- 
Kiilen.i 



Established. 
Membership. 



Mar., 1901 
301 



Share capital 

Funds 

All other liabilities 

Balance profit carried forward 

Land, buildings, and plant 

Stock in trade 

Debts due society 

All other assets 

Salaries and wages 

Depreciation 

All other expenses 

Interest on share capital 

Dividends on members' purchases 

Dividends on nonmembers' purchases. . . 

Bonus on wages 

Educational 

Subscriptions and donations 

Total value of goods sold 

Cooperative supplies, per cent 

Average share capital per member 

Average purchases per member 

Average dividend per pound sterling 

($4.8665) 

Rate of expenses per pound sterling 

Educational agencies 



$15,028.00 

1,192.00 

11,928.00 

448. 00 

15,782.00 

7,300.00 

2,789.00 

2,725.00 

4,536.00 

487. 00 

2,881.00 

506.00 

1,202.00 



29.00 

62,603.00 

20 

10.25 

107.00 

.648' 



May, 1905 
370 



May, 1902 
94 



May, 1889 
7,000 



Nov., 1910 
148 



54, 672. 00 

360. 00 

4,234.00 

808.00 

750. 00 

3,431.00 

49.00 

5,884.00 

2,535.00 

78.00 

1,976.00 

180.00 

2,696.00 

204.00 



29.00 

29. 00 

56,053.00 

54 

2.45 

97.00 



( 2 ) 



.36* 
.40 



$1,017.00 

49.00 

2,175.00 

97.00 

195. 00 

1,659.00 

399. 00 

1,100.00 

- 886.00 



555. 00 
49.00 

419. 00 
10.00 
19.00 



16,633.00 

58 

2.23 

180.00 

.243 

.42 



$237,417.00 

18, 176. 00 

33,282.00 

29,345.00 

121,784.00 

86,677.00 

4,516.00 

105,292.00 

55,117.00 

6,677.00 

30,313.00 

8,633.00 

63,727.00 

1,484.00 

3,713.00 

2,141.00 

1,582.00 

971,373.00 

70 

7.00 

136. 00 



( 3 ) 



.36$ 

.42* 



$1,246.00 



253. 00 
263.00 
214. 00 
,017.00 
156.00 
375.00 
297.00 
54.00 
151.00 



4,847.00 

78 

1.73 

34.00 



,486 



» 15 weeks. 



« Socials. 



s Lectures, classes, etc. 



90 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

Statistics of distributive societies in Ulster Province, 1910 — Continued. 



Keady. 



Lame. 



Lisburn. 



Newton- 
ards. 1 



Porta- 
down. 



Established. 
Membership. 



Apr., 1903 
35 



Apr., 1904 
96 



May, 1882 
920 



May, 1910 
335 



May, 



Share capital 

Funds 

All other liabilities 

Balance profit carried forward 

Land, buildings, and plant 

Stock in trade 

Debts due society 

All other assets 

Salaries and wages 

Depreciation 

All other expenses 

Interest on share capital 

Dividends on members' purchases 

Dividends on nonmembers' purchases 

Bonus on wages 

Educational 

Subscriptions and donations 

Total value of goods sold 

Cooperative supplies, per cent. 

Average share capital per member 

Average purchases per member 

Average dividends per pound sterling 

($4. 8665) 

Rate of expenses per pound sterling 

Educational agencies 



L, 840. 00 



$1,324.00 



803. 00 

10.00 

443.00 

973. 00 

1,071.00 

161.00 

813. 00 

131.00 

496. 00 

39.00 

24.00 



2,857.00 

10.00 

749. 00 

871.00 

1,178.00 

1,392.00 

1,251.00 

78.00 

964. 00 

54.00 



$44,451.00 
4,599.00 
2, 832. 00 
5,713.00 

16,536.00 

17,568.00 
7, 154. 00 

19,305.00 

8,458.00 

832. 00 

5,626.00 

1,835.00 

11,071.00 



$1,971.00 

44.00 

1, 659. 00 

117.00 

910. 00 

1,567.00 

638. 00 

676. 00 

1,153.00 

78.00 

589. 00 

24.00 

341.00 

15.00 



16, 896. 00 

45 

10.80 

78.00 

.04 
.42* 



17, 568. 00 

75 

2.80 

185.00 



355. 00 

107. 00 

158,911.00 

38.7 

9.90 

170. 00 



.628 



( 2 ) 



.36* 
.456 



21, 894. 00 

65 

1.20 

97.00 

.12 



1897 
222 



18, 828. 00 
1,144.00 
2,526.00 

477.00 
3,163.00 
2,122.00 
2,531.00 
5,158.00 
1,869.00 

234.00 
1,426.00 

360. 00 
1,119.00 



10.00 

24. CO 

38, 967. 00 

44.3 

8.20 

107.00 

.21 
.41 



1 8 months' trading. 



2 Lectures. 
Hunter Sharp, Consul. 



GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

American Consulate, 
i • Glasgow, Scotland, December 6, 1911. 

The Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 

Sir : I have the honor to report in regard to cooperation and cost of living, 
as called for by the department's circular instruction No. 66, dated October 12, 
1911 (file No. 165,060), as follows: 

The Fenwick Weavers' Society, founded in 1769, is said to be not only the 
first example of a cooperative society in Scotland, but in the United Kingdom. 
Though there are still a number of societies in existence dating from the be- 
ginning of last century, cooperation on the Rochdale principle was not generally 
adopted in Scotland prior to 1860. 

By the end of 1909 there were 294 cooperative societies in Scotland, with a 
capital of $46,510,150.26 and reserve funds amounting to $5,821,949.52. The 
trade for the year totaled $110,392,027.74, which showed a profit of $14,903,- 
360.10. 

The census of 1901 gives Scotland a population of 4,472,103. 

The cooperative societies of Scotland at the end of 1909 had a total member- 
ship of 405,129. Allowing for increase in population between 1901 and 1909, 
it is fair to say that 1 person in 12, including men, women, and children, is a 
cooperator, or practically 1 adult in every 4 in Scotland. 

Many years after the cooperative movement was first inaugurated in Scot- 
land as a means of ameliorating the condition of the working classes the Scot- 
tish Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.) came into existence, and gave to the 
movement an impetus that has been far-reaching in its effect, which is shown 
by the enormous growth and development of cooperation throughout Scotland 
and other sections of the United Kingdom. 

This society, registered in April, 1868, commenced business in September of 
that year in a modest way in rented quarters in Glasgow, from which goods, 
chiefly groceries, were supplied to retail cooperative societies. 

The capital at the end of the first quarter, December 7, 1868, was only 
$8,733.42, and the net sales for same period amounted to $47,127.42. 

Ground was purchased by the society in 1872, and an unpretentious building, 
which now forms a portion of their Paisley Road premises, was opened for busi- 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OE LIVING. 



91 



ness in 1874. A small stock of the common articles in dry goods was added, 
and in 1875 this line of goods was dealt with as a separate department. 

The rapid development of business led to the establishment of a branch at 
Leith, Scotland, in 1877, followed a year later by the opening of a branch at 
Kilmarnock, Scotland, primarily intended for the collection of produce, chiefly 
cheese, butter, eggs, and potatoes. 

The continued increase of business necessitated the purchase of ground for 
the extension of the premises, followed by the acquiring of large areas of 
ground in various parts of the city, on which have been erected large and 
substantial buildings, the most imposing of which contains the chief offices of 
the society. 

The Leith branch also expanded to such an extent as to warrant the erection 
of a building for its special use, to which several extensions have been made 
from time to time to meet the growing demands of business. 

In July, 1881, a branch of the wholesale society was opened in Dundee to 
supply societies in the northern district of Scotland with grocery goods. This 
branch rapidly outgrew its rented premises and now occupies new quarters 
constructed for its special use, the property of the society. 

In the year 1869, the first year of the Distributive Wholesale Cooperative 
Society, the business amounted to $394,117.08. In 1909, the forty-first year of 
its existence, the business totaled the enormous sum of $36,679,280.96. The 
total capital of the society (including deposits, reserve and insurance funds) 
in June, 1910, amounted to $15,641,239.68, or over 600 times the capital for the 
first complete year. 

Encouraged by the marked success of their efforts the directors as early 
as 1881, after careful consideration, determined to manufacture goods on their 
own account, and commenced in a small way the manufacturing of shirts in 
June, 1881. 

The first week's wages paid to productive workers by the wholesale society 
amounted to $33.41, and the value of the turnover for the first 19 weeks was 
somewhat under $972. For the 12 months ending December, 1909, this insig- 
nificant beginning in production had blossomed out to the following figures : 
Capital employed in production, $4,008,636.26 ; value of goods transferred, 
$12,214,618.56; wages bill, $1,456,052.30; while on December 25, 1909, 6,007 
people were employed in the various productive works of the society. 

The first venture of the society in productive cooperation promised so well 
that other lines of manufacture were entered upon with confidence, and before 
the close of 1881 a tailoring factory was established, followed in 1882 by a 
cabinet factory. These productive ventures proved so successful that in 1887 
12 acres of land were purchased at Shieldhall, in the vicinity of Glasgow, with 
the object of concentrating all the manufacturing business of the society. 

The productive establishments of the society are as follows : 



Glasgow productive departments: 

Wool shirt factory. 

Underclothing factory. 

Bespoke clothing factory. 

Mantle factory. 

Waterproof factory. 

Aerated water factory. 

Sausage factory. 

Cartwright factory- 
Saddlery department. 

Scale-making department. 

Bedding factory. 

Regent flour mills. 
Shieldhall productive departments: 

Boot factory. 

Ready-made clothing factory. 

Artisan clothing factory. 

Preserve factory. 

Confectionery factory. 

Pickle factory. 

Chemical and sundries depart- 
ment. 

Tinware factory. 

Tobacco factory. 

Brush factory. 

Coffee -essence factory. 



Shieldhall productive departments — 
Continued. 

Hosiery factory. 

Cabinet factory. 

Printing department. 
Productive departments elsewhere : 

Chancelot Flour Mills, Edinburgh. 

Junction Flour & Meal Mills, 
Leith. 

Aerated water factory, Leith. 

Aerated water factory, Stirling. 

Aerated water factory, Dunferm- 
line. 

Aerated water factory, Kirkcaldy. 

Dress shirt factory, Leith. 

Ettrick Tweed & Blanket Mills, 
Selkirk. 

Soap works, Grangemouth. 

Laundry, Paisley. 

Fish-curing station, Aberdeen. 

Enniskillen Creamery, Ireland. 

Enniskillen bacon-curing factory, 
Ireland. 

Bladnoch creamery and margarine 
factory, Wigtownshire. 



92 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

At Winnipeg, Canada, a depot for the purchasing of wheat for the society's 
flour mills was established in 1906. Since then six wheat elevators have been 
erected at various points, in which the grain brought in by farmers is stored. 

These elevators have a capacity of 30,000 bushels each. When sold, grain is 
dispatched to the terminal elevators at Port Arthur and Fort William and is 
shipped to this country via Montreal when the St. Lawrence is open, or from 
Atlantic ports during the winter season. 

In conjunction with the English Wholesale Cooperative Society the Scottish 
society has branches in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and buyers in New 
York and Montreal. 

In 1901 a partnership arrangement between the English and Scottish societies 
for the management of the tea, coffee, and cocoa departments was arrived at, 
and since that date tea estates in Ceylon, extending to 813 acres, have been 
purchased by the societies. 

The management of the society is intrusted to a board of 12 directors, in- 
clusive of the president and secretary, appointed for two years, and eligible 
for reelection at a general meeting of the society. 

The board of management is divided into departmental committees, and the 
president is ex officio of each. 

The capital of the Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Society is almost wholly 
contributed by the retail cooperative societies of Scotland. 

The shares are of the value of 20s. each, and a retail society applying for 
membership must take up one share for each of its members. For example, a 
society with 100 members must hold 100 shares and one with 1,000 members 
1,000 shares. 

Loans and deposits can also be accepted by the wholesale society from its 
members or others. 

The interest paid on share capital is 5 per cent per annum, and at present 
the interest paid on deposits varies from 1\ per cent per annum on sums with- 
drawable at call to 4 per cent on sums withdrawable at 12 months' notice. 
This interest is always included in the working expenses of the society. 

Capital of the society in June, 1910. 

Share capital (paid up) $1,97^,558.52 

Deposits from members 10, 715, 700. 16 

Deposits from nonmembers__ 166, 204. 34 

Employees' share capital (paid up) 66,227.62 

Employees' bonus loan fund 270, 624. 24 

Private deposits 547, 650. 00 

Reserve and insurance funds 2, 845, 262. 26 

On the above capital the following rates of interest are paid : Share capital. 
5 per cent; deposits at call, 2£ per cent; at 6 months' notice, 31 per cent; at 
12 months' notice, 4 per cent per annum. To private depositors, 2\ per cent at 
call, 3 per cent at 6 months' notice, and 3| per cent at 12 months' notice. To 
employees' deposits at call 3 per cent, and at 12 months' notice 4 per cent per 
annum. At present no deposits are taken unless at call, and in sums not 
exceeding $972. 

Total capital of the wholesale society, including deposits, in- 
surance and reserve funds in June, 1910 $16, 642, 039. 68 

Total sales from commencement to June, 1910 711, 306, 444. 34 

Total profit from commencement to June, 1910 _• 21,557,307.60 

The total number of persons employed by the wholesale society in June, 1910, 
was 7,669. of which grand total 3,616 were adult males, 2,796 adult females, 
and 1,257 young persons of both sexes under 18 years of age. 

A bonus is paid to all workers in all departments on wages earned at the 
same rate per £1 ($4.86) as the dividend paid on members' purchases. 

Since the present bonus scheme was introduced, in 1870, till June, 1910, the 
amount allocated to workers reached $922,240.70. Only one-half of the bonus 
due is paid, the other half being retained and placed to the credit of the em- 
ployee. In the meantime, this latter sum bears interest at 4 per cent per 
annum and can be withdrawn only when the employee leaves the service of 
the society. 

Employees may become shareholders, but not less than 5 nor more than 50 
shares can be held by one individual. The amount paid up on share capital 
bears interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum. 

Share-holding employees are entitled to representation at the meetings of 
the society. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 93 

RETAIL COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES. 

The retail cooperative societies are organized practically along the lines 
of wholesale societies, 

MEMBERSHIP. 



"Any adult person, society or company ; who have satisfied the committee 
that they are eligible, may become members of the society. 

"A person under the age of 21, but above the age of 16, may become a mem- 
ber and enjoy all the rights thereof, but shall not be competent to be a member 
of committee or act as cashier or manager of the society. 

" The directors shall have power to erase from the register of members the 
name of any member whose purchases from the society during the three pre- 
ceeding months do not, iu their opinion, amount to a fair share of such mem- 
ber's trade, but before doing so the directors shall cause intimation of their 
intention respecting any such member to be sent him at least one month before 
thus excluding him from the society, and within three weeks after erasing 
his name they shall place at his disposal any funds he may have in the society, 
after having deducted therefrom his debts, if any, to the society. Any mem- 
ber so excluded shall have no further claim upon the society, but he may again 
be readmitted in the usual form." 

I can not learn that this power has ever been exercised in any of the retail 
cooperative societies in this district, but as there are so many societies, it is 
quite possible that members may have been dropped from the register under 
the above provision. It is a well-known fact, however, that there are members 
in many of the societies who hold shares purely as an investment and whose 
purchases of goods from the society are comparitively trifling. 

The independent retailers and wholesalers look upon the cooperative societies 
as unfair and destructive competitors, and the cooperators, on the other hand, 
apparently believe that the cooperative principle is a great benefit to the com- 
munity and to the individual members on economic grounds. 

With such diverse opinions and interests, there has naturally developed a 
business rivalry between cooperative and noncooperative traders, which has 
resulted in making them commercial antagonists. 

Cooperation does not appear to have cheapened prices to the consumer, 
in as much as the prices charged by the cooperative stores are higher than 
the independent traders' prices. The extra price paid by a cooperative mem- 
ber is returned to him in the form of a dividend or goes to his credit for the 
purchase of shares. 

The cooperative stores do business on a cash basis, except that members may 
receive credit to the value of their shares. 

The membership of the cooperative societies is composed largely of the work- 
ing classes and those not employed by the independent traders or others op- 
posed to the cooperative principle. 

Cooperation in this district, and in fact throughout Scotland, has been the 
means of compelling many independent traders to give up business entirely, and 
a marked reduction in the annual volume of business is the experience of many 
others. This is especially true in towns and communities where extensive in- 
dustrial concerns, employing thousands of skilled and nonskilled laborers, are 
located. 

Cooperation here is undoubtedly a blessing to those incapable of putting aside 
a portion of their earnings for a time of special need. That class of members 
and many others make all their purchases at cooperative society stores, depend- 
ing on accruing dividends to meet rent, taxes, and other demands of a pressing 
character. In short, they make the society their savings bank. They seldom 
know or care what the independent trader charges for the same quality of 
goods. The dividend at the close of the quarter is what appeals to them, re- 
gardless of the fact that the higher prices paid on purchases may more than 
account for the dividend returned. 

On the other hand, there are numerous members who keep well informed on 
prices charged by independent traders and buy only such articles at the society 
stores that can be bought at the price charged by the independent dealer. 

In many localities, where the cooperative societies have practically driven 
out the independent shops, the societies' stores draw patronage from families 
who are nonmembers on account of the convenience of the stores. As the non- 
members receive but one-half of the amount per £1 ($4.86) of their purchases, 
which is paid to members, many of the former become members to obtain the 
full allowance per £1 ($4.86) on their purchases. 



94 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

The amount allowed per fl ($4.86) on purchases varies quarterly, accord- 
ing to the prosperity of the society, and some societies are much more prosperous 
than others, which enables them to pay higher dividends generally. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

J. N. McCunn, Consul. 



BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

Cooperation in the midlands of England has not attained the growth or the 
importance that it appears to have in the north of England. It was developed 
much later and is of comparatively recent growth. It is somewhat of a question 
whether in the comparatively small way in which cooperation exists in Bir- 
mingham it effects an actual saving in the cost of living to those who utilize its 
opportunities, because the prices at which articles are sold are not in some cases 
so low as those at which food products can be obtained from the large multiple 
stores. It is probably true, however, that when the prices of commodities are 
low the members of the cooperative society benefit more than when prices are 
high, because multiple stores and other grocers at the period of high prices sell 
a number of commodities, such as sugar and butter, at prices which give a very 
low margin of profit and in some cases none at all, whereas, in time of low 
prices their profits are greater. However, it is to be noted that the cooperative 
society, as operated in Birmingham, has the advantage that by reason of the 
rebate granted to purchasers, which is now 2s. (49 cents) in the pound sterling 
($4.8G), the purchaser is enabled to acquire by degrees a small capital provided 
he leaves his rebate in the hands of the society as an investment therein and 
draws his dividend at the rate of 5 per cent per annum thereon. 

The Birmingham Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) has a membership 
of 17.000 out of a popalation of 840,000, and therefore supplies about one-tenth 
of the same, it being assumed that there is an average of five to each farmly 
that is a member; has a capital of £115,000 ($559,647.50) and annual business 
aggregating about £280,000 ($1,362,620). The society is governed by a committee 
of management which works voluntarily, and gets no allowance at all, except a 
small annual fee. which does not more than cover expenses. This committee 
is elected at a meeting of the members, every member having one vote and one 
vote only. Membership on the committee is for a period of 12 months. In 
this committee is vested the entire control of the society. It makes up accounts, 
publishes quarterly balance sheets, and holds quarterly meetings. 

Anyone can become a member of this society by going to one of its shops and 
paying 6d. (12 cents) for a book in which will be entered all the purchases 
made, and on all such purchases there is at present a rebate of 2s. (49 cents) 
in the pound sterling ($4.86). This rebate can either be drawn in cash at the 
end of each quarter upon presentation 'of the book or can be invested in the 
society. On this point its rules read: 

"Share capital. — Each member of the society must hold at least three shares 
of £1 ($4.86) each, which may be paid in full on entering the society, or by 
a first installment of 3d. (6 cents) and by subsequent installments at the rate of 
3s. 3d (78 cents) per quarter. Any member at any time may pay in one sum 
the balance of his installments then due, or increase the amount of his install- 
ments. In default of such payments the committee of management shall have 
power to inflict a fine of 3d. (6 cents) per quarter. 

" No member other than a registered society shall hold any interest in the 
shares of the society exceeding in amount £200 ($973.30), and the committee 
shall have power to limit the number of shares held by any member in excess 
of £100 ($486.65) to such sums as they may require. 

" Shares shall not be transferable, but shall be withdrawable, subject as 
hereinafter provided. 

" No interest or dividend shall be paid to any member who is in arrears of 
his subscriptions, but all such moneys shall be applied so far as they extend 
in payment of all such arrears. 

" Members failing to keep up their installments on shares, and being 12 
calendar months in arrears, shall be expelled from the society, and forfeit all 
interest therein. 

" The committer may remit any fine incurred by nonpayment of any install- 
ment, if the nonpayment appears to them to have arisen from sickness, distress, 
want of work, or any other sufficient reason, of which a written statement, 
signed by the defaulting member or some person claiming to act on his behalf, 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 95 

has been given to the secretary at the time when the payment ought to have 
been made. 

" The society shall have a lien on the shares of any member for any debt 
due to it by him, and may set off any sum credited to the member thereon on or 
toward the payment of such debt. If any member shall make default in pay- 
ment of any subscriptions, fines, or other sum of money due from him under 
these rules, or otherwise, the same respectively shall be recoverable from him, 
his executors or administrators, by legal process as a debt due to the society. 

"Interest on share capital. — The rate of interest payable on shares shall be 
2£ per cent per annum on the shares of members returning less than £3 ($14.59) 
checks in accordance with the following scale: Purchases of £3 ($14.59) per 
quarter shall entitle the member to interest on not more than £40 ($194.66) ; 
purchases of £4 ($19.46) per quarter shall entitle the member to interest on 
not more than £60 ($291.99) ; purchases of £5 ($24.33) per quarter shall en- 
title the member to interest on not more than £80 ($389.32) ; purchases of £6 
($29.19) per quarter shall entitle the member to interest on £100 ($486.65). 

"After conforming to the above scale the interest payable shall be 4 per cent 
per annum on every fully paid-up share. 

" Withdrawal of share capital. — The committee of management shall have 
power to suspend the withdrawal of capital whenever in their judgment the 
interests of the society require it. Subject thereto the scale of notice on with- 
drawals shall be, on application : £1 ($4.86) ; overfl ($4.86), not over £5 ($24.33), 
one week; over £5 ($24.33), not over £10 ($48.66), two weeks; over £10 ($48.66), 
not over £15 ($72.99), three weeks; over £15 ($72.99), not over £20 ($97.73), 
four weeks; over £20 ($97.73), not over £30 ($145.99), five weeks, and so 
on; one additional week's notice for every additional sum of £10 ($48.66) in 
the case of sums not over £100 ($486.65), and of £20 ($97.73) in the case of a 
sum over £100 and not over £200 ($973.30) ; and no member shall reduce the 
amount of his share capital below £1 ($4.86), except in case of total withdrawal 
or when sanctioned by resolution of the committee. 

" The committee waives the necessity of notice to withdraw share capital 
whenever they deem it expedient to do so, except in cases of total withdrawal, 
when 14 days' notice of such intention must be given. Withdrawals shall only 
be paid to the member personally and on his receipt or to the bearer of the 
share book with a written order signed by the member. 

" Repayment of capital. — Subject to the payment of or a sufficient provision 
for all subsisting claims on the society, the committe, with the approval of any 
general meeting, may apply any moneys for which they can not find profitable 
investment in paying off : 

"(1) The shares of any member who has bought of the society less than any 
amount fixed by the ordinary business meetings in any prescribed time; (2) 
the excess of shares held by those who hold the largest number above those 
who hold the next largest, provided that no member be required to accept 
less than the full sum paid upon each share paid off and that the number of 
shares held by any member shall not be reduced below the number required by 
the rules of the society to be held. 

" If a member who has received notice that the committee is prepared to 
pay him off leave the sum to be thus repaid in the hands of the society, he shall 
not be entitled to any interest thereon after the expiration of the time named 
in the notice of repayment." 

It is claimed that if the interest on share capital is limited, as it is, to 5 
per cent interest, and the capital is limited, the association can never develop 
so as to benefit one or two members to the exclusion of others. 

Under the law the society is compelled to keep its books open to receive any- 
one who wants to join as long as it remains a cooperative body, and it is, as a 
cooperative body, exempt from paying income tax under the provisions of 
schedules D and C of the income-tax laws. 

The ordinary retail grocer does not regard cooperation very favorably, claim- 
ing that the prices the cooperative societies charge, in order to pay the rebate 
of 2s. (49 cents), are proportionately higher. The large multiple shops or 
stores, which have branches throughout the cities of the United Kingdom, are 
said to be not at all antagonistic, because the cooperative stores really do not 
compete with them. The prices charged at the cooperative stores are the ordi- 
nary market prices, and in no sense cut prices. The grocery trade, for instance, 
can be divided into three classes — the large multiple shops, with very low cut 
prices for certain lines, the ordinary retail cash grocer, and the old family 
grocer, who has to give long credits. The prices of the cooperative stores, it is 



96 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

claimed, are the medium prices, or those charged by the ordinary retail cash 
grocer. 

The goods are, to a very large extent, delivered at the doors of the members. 
There is a weekly delivery of coal, sold in small quantises, the usual quantity 
required by a member being 2 hundredweight (112 pounds) per week, and at 
the present time this is sold at lid. (22 cents) per hundredweight. There is a 
daily delivery of bread, every member of the society being called upon, and 
the charge for the 2-pound loaf is 2|d. (5.576 cents) and 3d. (6 cents). People 
usually take a week's supply of groceries, which are delivered to them, and 
the small requirements during the week are carried away by the purchasers. 
The society requires 76 horses for delivery purposes only, and 1 motor wagon. 
The cost for horse food annually is about £2,500 ($12,166.25), and the entire 
cost with stabling, depreciation of delivery wagons, horses, harness, etc., is 
between £4,000 ($19,466) and £5,000 ($24,332.50) a year. Therefore, if their 
sales are about £280,000 ($1,362,620) per annum, it will be seen that the cost 
of delivery is between 1J per cent and If per cent of their sales. So if all 
goods were taken away by members instead of being delivered, their cost to 
the purchasers would be reduced by 1? to If per cent. 

Goods are purchased by this society from wholesale cooperative stores and 
also from independent wholesale houses. 

The object of the society is to enable the working man of comparatively small 
income, say, £2 ($9.73) a week, and whose spending requirements are practi- 
cally as large as fiis income, to save money and become an investor in the 
society. This appears to be its chief advantage. One difficulty that is said 
to exist in connection with cooperative societies is that there is not quite the 
same incentive to business keenness that there is for the merchant whose profits 
depend wholly upon his business judgment and acumen, because the society offi- 
cials do not receive compensation depending upon the business done. As an 
offset to this, however, is the natural desire of the management of the society to 
make it successful and to justify its existence. Another difficulty is apt to be 
that when an employee has shown himself particularly efficient in business 
management, his services are required by firms in regular business and not 
cooperation. 

The Birmingham Household Supply, a semicooperative store somewhat simi- 
lar to the Army and Navy Stores and Army and Navy Stores Junior, of London, 
is a limited liability company baving ordinary shares of £1 ($4.86) each. Any 
member may own as many of these shares as he cares to buy, just as in an 
ordinary liability company, but the holding of one share entitles the pur- 
chaser to a bonus on the goods purchased during the year in addition to his 
dividend. At the present time the company pays a dividend of 10 per cent 
on the shares and a bonus of 9d. (18 cents) in the pound on goods purchased. 
Everything is booked to the shareholder's ticket number, and at the end of the 
year the amount of the bonus is allocated to each shareholder. Persons not 
being shareholders, of course, do not receive this bonus or the dividend, though 
they may purchase as easily. The £1 shares are to-day said to be worth about 
40s. ($9.73), and the bonus varies according to the profits made. In a general 
way this organization reduces the cost to the shareholder, but its prices will 
be a shade higher on the average than those of the cooperative society first 
mentioned. This company was established with the idea of reducing the cost 
of goods to the purchaser, but it was found that on so many proprietary articles 
the cost could not be reduced that the plan outlined above was adopted 
instead. 

AXBERT HALSTEAD. 

Reg. No. 2252 R. 

Rules of the Birmingham Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.). 
standing orders to be observed at meetings. 

1. All notices of motion shall be given in writing' not less than 21 days pre- 
vious to the meeting. 

2. Whenever amendments are made upon original propositions (notice of 
which has previously been given not less than seven days previous to the meet- 
ing, except where not affecting the purport of such resolution) no second amend- 
ment shall be taken into consideration until the first amendment is disposed of. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 97 

3. If a first amendment is carried, it displaces the original question, and be- 
comes itself the question, whereupon any further amendment may be moved. 

4. If the first amendment be negatived, then a second may be moved to the 
original question under consideration, but only one amendment shall be sub- 
mitted to the meeting for discussion at one time. 

5. The mover of every original resolution, but not of every amendment, shall 
have a right of reply, immediately after which the question shall be put from 
the chair; but no other member shall be allowed to speak more than once on the 
same question unless permission be given to explain or the attentioD of the chair 
be called to point of order. 

6. Movers of original resolutions will be allowed 15 minutes for proposal, 
with 5 minutes for reply, and ail other speakers must not exceed 5 minutes. 

7. No new business shall be introduced after 9.45 p. m., unless with the con- 
sent of two-thirds of the members present at the meeting. 

8. No member, rising to ask a question, shall add to the question any argu- 
mentative or other statement. 

INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL QUALIFICATION. 

1. In the construction of these rules, including this rule, the following words 
and expressions shall have respectively the meanings following, unless the sub- 
ject matter or context are inconsistent therewith : 

(1) Words importing the singular or plural number shall respectively in- 
clude the plural and singular numbers; words importing the masculine gender 
only shall include the feminine gender. 

(2) "The act" shall mean the industrial and provident societies acts, 1893 
and 1895. 

(3) "The committee" shall mean the committee of management of the 
society. 

(4) A "company" shall mean (1) any body corporate other than a society; 
(2) any society authorized to sue and be sued by any person authorized to act 
in its behalf ; and " a society " shall mean any society registered under the act, 
or deemed so to be. 

(5) "Lands" shall include tenements and hereditaments. 

(6) " The society " shall mean the " Birmingham Industrial Cooperative 
Society (Ltd.)." 

2. Every rule herein contained shall be subject to qualification by any special 
rule of the society referring to it by its number, and shall be deemed to be 
adopted by the society in so far only as is consistent with such qualification. 

NAME, OBJECTS, AND PLACE OF BUSINESS. 

3. The name of the society is " The Birmingham Industrial Cooperative 
Society (Ltd.)." The objects of the society are to carry on the trade of general 
dealers, both wholesale and retail, and the industry of manufacturers of any 
articles so dealt in which the committee may direct, and shall include the trade 
of buying and selling land. The society shall have full powers to do all things 
necessary or expedient for the accomplishment of all objects specified in its 
rules, including the power to purchase, hold, sell, mortgage, rent, lease, or sub- 
lease, lands of any tenure, and to erect, pull down, repair, alter, or otherwise 
deal with any building thereon. 

4. The seal of the society shall have for its device the arms of the city of 
Birmingham with the motto " Forward." 

5. The registered office of the society shall be the society's store. Great Francis 
Street, Duddeston, Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, or such other place 
as the committee of management shall from time to time appoint. 

6. Notice of any removal of the office of the society shall be sent to the 
registrar within 14 days after such change, in manner and form provided by 
the treasury regulations in that behalf. 

7. All books of account, securities, documents, and papers of the society, 
other than such (if any) as are directed by the committee to be kept elsewhere, 
shall be kept at the registered office, in such manner and with such provisions 
for their security as the committee from time to time direct. 

ADMISSION OF MEMBERS. 

8. The society shall consist of the present members and of all other persons 
who shall be admitted in the following manner: No person shall be admitted 

34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 7 



98 COOPERATION AND THE, COST OF LIVING. 

as a member except by the committee of management; every person proposed 
shall pay an entrance fee of 6d. and must sign a declaration of his willingness 
to take out at least three shares and be bound by the rules of the society. Any 
person proposed and not admitted to membership shall have his entrance fee 
returned. Persons not under the age of 16 years may become members and do 
any act which they could do if of full age, except holding any office. 

A society or company shall be admitted only by the resolution of a general 
meeting and on such terms consistent with the act as such meeting may 
prescribe. 

9. All entrance, withdrawal, or transfer fees shall be applied to reducing 
fixed and working stock account. 

10. All notices required to be sent or given to the members shall be deemed 
duly served by sending or posting the same to the address appearing in the 
registers. Any member changing his residence shall, within one month there- 
after, give notice thereof at the registered office of the society, when the nec- 
essary alteration shall be made in the register. 

SHARE CAPITAL. 

11. Each member of the society must hold at least three shares of £1 each, 
which may be paid in full on entering the society, or by a first installment of 
3d. and by subsequent installments at the rate of 3s. 3d. per quarter. Any 
member at any time may pay in one sum the balance of his installments then 
due, or increase the amount of his installments. In default of such payments 
the committee of management shall have power to inflict a fine of 3d. per 
quarter. 

12. No member other than a registered society shall hold any interest in the 
shares of the society exceeding in amount £200, and the committee shall have 
power to limit the number of shares held by any member in excess of £100 
to such sums as they may require. 

13. Shares shall not be transferable, but shall be withdrawable, subject as 
hereinafter provided. 

14. No interest or dividend shall be paid to any member who is in arrears 
of his subscriptions, but all such moneys shall be applied, so far as they 
extend, in payment of all such arrears. 

15. Members failing to keep up their installments on shares, and being 12 
calendar months in arrears, shall be expelled from the society and forfeit all 
interest therein. 

16. The committee may remit any fine incurred by nonpayment of any install- 
ment if the nonpayment appears to them to have arisen from sickness, dis- 
tress, want of work, or any other sufficient reason, of which a written state- 
ment, signed by the defaulting member or some person claiming to act on his 
behalf, has been given to the secretary at the time when the payment ought 
to have been made. 

17. The society shall have a lien on the shares of any member for any debt 
due to it by him, and may set off any sum credited to the member thereon on 
or toward the payment of such debt. If any member shall make default in 
payment of any subscriptions, fines, or other sum of money due from him 
under these rules, or otherwise, the same, respectively, shall be recoverable 
from him, his executors, or administrators, by legal process as a debt due to 
the society. 

INTEREST ON SHARE CAPITAL. 

18. (1) The rate of interest payable on shares shall be 2\ per cent per 
annum on the shares of members returning less than £3 checks per quarter; 
5 per cent per annum on the shares of members returning not less than £3 
checks in accordance with the following scale: £3 purchases per quarter shall 
entitle the member to interest on not more than £40; £4 purchases per quarter 
shall entitle the member to interest on not more than £60 ; £5 purchases per 
quarter shall entitle the member to interest on not more than £80; £6 pur- 
chases per quarter shall entitle the member to interest on £100. After con- 
forming to the above scale, the interest payable shall be 4 per cent per annum 
on every fully paid-up share. 

WITHDRAWAL OF SHARE CAPITAL. 

19. The committee of management shall have power to suspend the with- 
drawal of capital whenever (in their judgment) the interests of the society 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 99 

require It. Subject thereto the scale of notice on withdrawals shall be: £1, 
on application; over £1 and not over £5, one week; over £5 and not over £10, 
two weeks ; over £10 and not over £15, three weeks ; over £15 and not over 
£20, four weeks; over £20 and not over £30, five weeks, and so on; one addi- 
tional week's notice for every additional sum of £10 in the case of sums not 
over £100 and of £20 in the case of a sum over £100 and not over £200. And 
no member shall reduce the amount of his share capital below £1 except in 
case of total withdrawal or when sanctioned by resolution of the committee. 

20. The committee may waive the necessity of notice to withdraw share 
capital whenever they deem it expedient to do so, except in cases of total with- 
drawal, when 14 days' notice of such intention must be given. Withdrawals 
shall only be paid to the member personally and on his receipt or to the bearer 
of the share book with a written order signed by the member. 

All total withdrawals shall be subject to a withdrawal fee of Is. 

.PUBLICATION OF NAME OF SOCIETY AND INSPECTION OF THE BOOKS. 

21. The name of the society shall be kept painted and affixed on the outside 
of every office or place in which the business of the society is carried on, in 
a conspicuous position, in letters easily legible, and shall be engraven in legible 
characters on its seal, and shall be mentioned in legible characters in all 
notices, advertisements, and other official publications of the society, and in all 
bills of exchange, promissory notes, indorsements, checks, and orders for money 
and goods, purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the society, and in all 
bills of parcels, invoices, receipts, and letters of credit of the society. 

22. Any member or person having an interest in the funds of the society may 
inspect his own account and the books containing the names of the members, at 
all reasonable hours, at the registered office of the society, or at any place where 
the same are kept, subject to such regulations as to the time and manner of 
such inspection as may be made from time to time by the general meetings of 
the society. 

INVESTMENTS. 

23. The committee may invest any part of the capital of the society in ad- 
vances, on the security of real property, to members ; or on the security of any 
other society registered under the act, or under the building societies acts, or 
of any company registered under the companies acts, or incorporated by act of 
Parliament or by charter, provided that no such investment be made in the 
shares of any society or company other than one with limited liability, and shall 
make any such investment in the registered name of the society. 

REPAYMENT OF CAPITAL. 

24. Subject to the payment of or a sufficient provision for all subsisting 
claims on the society, the committee, with the approval of any general meeting, 
may apply any moneys for which they can not find profitable investment, in 
paying off — 

(1) The shares of any member who has bought of the society less than any 
amount fixed by the ordinary business meetings in any prescribed time; (2) the 
excess of shares held by those who hold the largest number above those who 
hold the next largest ; provided that no member be required to accept less than 
the full sum paid upon each share paid off, and that the number of shares held 
by any member shall not be reduced below the number required by the rules 
of the society to be held. 

25. If a member who has received notice that the committee is prepared to 
pay him off leave the sum to be thus repaid in the hands of the society he shall 
not be entitled to any interest thereon after the expiration of the time named 
in the notice of repayment. 

26. Shares may be held by two or more individuals jointly, either of whom 
may give a valid receipt for a withdrawal of same or for any interest or divi- 
dend payable thereon ; and all notices relating thereto received by or given to 
such one of them as they jointly direct, and in default of any direction, to the 
one whose name stands first in the books of the society, shall be deemed to be 
sufficiently given ; and on the decease of a joint owner of any such share or 
shares shall be transferred into the name of the survivor or survivors on his 
or their application; but for the purposes of ordinary, quarterly, or special gen- 
eral meetings the one whose name stands first shall be deemed to be a member. 



100 COOPERATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 

27. Dividends shall not be calculated on or for any fraction of fl or of a 
calendar month. 

LOANS. 

28. The committee of management may, with the consent of a general meet- 
ing, obtain for the purpose of the society, by way of loan from any person, 
whether or not a member of the society, on the security of bonds signed by 
three at least of the members of such committee, and countersigned by the 
secretary for the time being, with the society's seal affixed, such sum or sums 
of money not exceeding one-third of the share capital, at such rate of interest 
not exceeding 5 per cent, and subject to such provisions for repayment as any 
general meeting of members may sanction. 

The society shall not receive money on deposit. 

NOMINATION OF MEMBERS. 

29. The secretary shall keep a book in which he shall register or record all 
nominations made by members of the society of any person or persons other 
than an officer or servant of the society, unless such officer or servant is the 
husband, wife, father, mother, child, brother, sister, nephew, or niece of the 
nominator, to whom his property in the society, whether in snares or loans, or 
so much thereof as is specified in such nomination, if the nomination does not 
comprise the whole, shall be transferred at his decease, provided that the 
amount credited to him in the books of the society does not then exceed £100. 

(a) The secretary shall in like manner record or register all revocations or 
variations of such nominations by the nominator. The nominator shall pay 3d. 
to the management fund for the recording or registering of every such revoca- 
tion or variation. 

. (ft) On receiving satisfactory proof of the death of a nominator, the committee 
shall either transfer the property comprised in the nomination, in manner di- 
rected by it, or pay to every person entitled thereunder the full value of the 
property given to him, unless the shares comprised therein if transferred as 
directed by the nominator would raise the share capital of any nominee to an 
amount exceeding £200, in which case they shall pay him the value of such 
shares. An entry of such payment shall be made in the proper book, and there- 
upon the shares so paid for shall be extinguished. If the total property of the 
nominator in the society at his death exceeds £80, the committee shall, before 
making any payment, require production of a duly stamped receipt for the suc- 
cession or legacy duty payable thereon, or a letter or certificate from the com- 
missioners of inland revenue, stating that no such duty is ^payable. If any 
member entitled to property in the society in respect of- shares or loans, not 
exceeding in the whole at his death £100, dies intestate, without having made 
any nomination thereof then subsisting, the committee may, without letters of 
administration, distribute the same among such persons as appear to them, on 
such evidence as they deem satisfactory, to be entitled by law to receive the 
same, subject, if such property exceeds £80, to the obtaining from the commis- 
sioners of inland revenue a receipt for the succession or legacy duty payable 
thereon, or a letter or certificate stating that no such duty is payable. 

(c) If any member entitled to property in the society not exceeding £100 
dies leaving a will and without having made any nomination which remains un- 
revoked at his death, or if any member entitled to property in the society ex- 
ceeding £100 dies, such property shall be transferable or payable only to his 
executors or administrators, subject as aforesaid. 

If any member becomes bankrupt his property in the society shall be payable 
to the trustee of his property. 

GENERAL AND SPECIAL MEETINGS. 

30. The quarterly business meetings of the society shall be held at 7.30 p. m. 
on the first Tuesdays in February, May, August, and November, with the ex- 
ception of the August meeting, which shall be held on the second Tuesday when 
the first Tuesday falls immediately after Bank Holiday. 

31. The functions of quarterly business meetings shall be (1) to receive from 
the committee, auditors, or any other officers of the society reports upon the 
business of the society during the period embraced therein and the state of its 
affairs at the date thereof, which, except any such meeting directs otherwise, 
shall be made to every such meeting; (2) to elect the committee, auditors, and 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 101 

other officers of the society, excepting those whose appointment is given by the 
rules of the committee; (3) to transact any other general business of the 
society. 

32. Midquarterly meetings shall also be held on the second Tuesday in the 
months of March, June, September, and December, at which nominations for 
all officers to be elected at the next quarterly meeting following shall be made, 
such nominations to be made on forms supplied by the committee, stating (1) 
name and address of nominee; (2) occupation or profession; (3) length of 
membership; (4) previous experience of committee work on this or other kin- 
dred societies, or any reason or recommendation the nominator may think well 
to support his nomination; (5) signature of nominator. Special reports re- 
ceived and any business transacted, other than that provided by these rules 
to be transacted at a quarterly meeting. 

33. Notice of any general meeting shall be given by public placard, posted at 
the registered office of the society and at all places of business of the society 
and in such other manner as the committee may determine, not less than 14 
days before any such meeting, stating the place and time, and also the nature 
of the business to be transacted. Provided, that with the sanction of any such 
meeting the committee may introduce any business of an urgent nature, 
whether the same has been notified or not. 

34. Special general meetings shall be convened by the secretary, either on an 
order of the committee or upon a requisition signed by 1 per cent of the mem- 
bers, and shall be held as soon as is possible after the receipt of such order or 
requisition, and at the ordinary place and time of the business meetings of the 
society, unless any ordinary business meeting fixes any other place of meeting. 

35. Notices convening a special general meeting shall be given by public 
placard, posted at the registered office of the society and at all places of busi- 
ness of the society, and in such other manner as the committee may determine, 
not less than six clear days before any such meeting, stating the place, time, 
and nature of the business to be transacted. 

36. If the secretary does not convene a special general meeting in manner re- 
quired hereby for seven clear days after a requisition therefor signed as 
hereinbefore provided has' been delivered at the office of the society, any of 
the requisitionists may give such notice of the meeting as is provided by rule 
40, and shall have a claim upon the society for all costs properly incurred in 
giving such notice. 

37. A special general meeting can not transact any business not specified in 
the notice convening it, or unless the notice convening it has been given accord- 
ing to the rules. But an ordinary business meeting may be made special for 
any purpose of which notice has been so given, provided that such business is 
not brought on until the ordinary business is concluded. 

38. An ordinary business or special general meeting may proceed to business 
if 40 members are present within half an hour after the time fixed for the 
meetings, and in the case of midquarterly meetings, if 25 members are present 
within half an hour after the time fixed for the meeting; otherwise the meeting, 
if a special general meeting convened on the requisition of the members, or a 
midquarterly meeting, shall be dissolved, but if an ordinary business meeting 
or a special meeting convened by order of the committee, shall stand adjourned 
to the week following, at the same time, and shall be held at the principal 
place of business of the society, or at such place as the committee shall direct ; 
and the meeting so adjourned may proceed to business whatever is the number 
of members present. No meeting shall become incompetent to transact business 
from the want of a quorum arising after the chair has been taken. 

39. Any general meeting, duly constituted, may adjourn to such place as the 
members present direct, within 30 days, and may continue any such adjourn- 
ment from time to time. No business shall be brought on at any adjourned 
meeting which could not have been transacted at the original meeting; and the 
same notice shaTi be given at any meeting adjourned for more than 14 days, 
as was required for the original meeting. 

40. Every meeting shall have a chairman, who shall not vote unless the votes 
are equal, when he shall have a casting vote ; and who, in the absence of the 
president of the society, shall be any member of the committee willing to 
preside; and in the absence of any such member such person as the meeting 
selects. 

41. Each member of the society shall be entitled to one vote, but in the case 
of joint holders of shares, one of their number, whom they shall appoint in 
writing for that purpose, shall have one vote also. 






102 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

42. Votes shall be first taken by show of hands, unless a ballot on any ques- 
tion is demanded by five members present, when tfeey shall be taken by ballot 
as the committee fix. Subject to the act, all questions shall be determined by 
a majority of votes. 

43. The committee, if they find it requisite, may pass resolutions for regulat- 
ing the conduct of members at meetings, or the time after which divisions shall 
not be taken ; which shall be binding on all the members, subject to any resolu- 
tion of the ordinary business meetings thereon. 

COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT. 

44. The business of the society shall be conducted by a committee of manage- 
ment, which shall consist of the president and 12 committeemen. 

45. At each quarterly business meeting one-fourth part of the existing com- 
mitteemen shall retire, and an equal number shall be elected; the order of 
retirement being fixed by priority of election. A retiring committeeman shall 
be immediately eligible. 

46. If a vacancy caused by the retirement of any committeeman is not filled 
up by the meeting by which it ought to have been filled under the rules, the 
retiring member may continue to act until the next ordinary business meeting. 

47. A committeeman may be removed from office at any time by two-thirds 
of the members present and voting at a special general meeting, which may 
thereupon proceed to fill up his place by a vote of the majority of the members 
present and voting. 

48. No person shall be eligible to serve on the committee of management who 
is a servant of, or holds any other office or place of profit under the society, or 
who or whose wife deals in any articles or commodities sold by the society, 
who does not hold one fully paid-up share in the society, or has not been a 
member of the society for at least 12 months immediately preceding the date 
of his nomination for such office, or as president who has not been a member of 
the committee of management 12 months. 

No person shall be eligible for the office of president, committee of manage- 
ment, or auditor who does not purchase from the society and deliver in checks 
to the amount of £5 each quarter, and any person who accepts such office and 
becomes bankrupt, or is concerned in the profits of any contract made with the 
society, except as a member of any society or company which has entered into 
contracts with, or done any work for this society, shall thereupon vacate his 
office. 

49. A vacancy in the number of committeemen arising from any such dis- 
qualification as aforesaid, or the removal of any committeeman whose place is 
not filled up by the meeting by which he is removed, or the death, resignation, 
incapacity for acting, or refusal to act, of any committeeman, shall be filled up 
with some qualified person (1) if it arises in the interval between two ordinary 
business meetings, by the remaining members of the committee, or if not so 
filled, by the next meeting; (2) if it arises at any such meeting, by the meet- 
ing, and in the last case any committeeman who may resign shall be immediately 
reeligible. Every person so appointed, or elected by the meeting, to fill any 
vacancy shall be substituted for the member who has caused the vacancy, and 
shall retire from office at the time when such member would have retired. 

50. The committee shall control all business carried on by or on account of 
the society, receive and give receipts for all moneys due to it, determine all 
purchases or sales, and the prices to be paid or charged for the same, and 
make all contracts entered into by or on behalf of the society for any of the 
objects for which it is formed, including all purchases and contracts relating to 
land, building, or mortgage, and all snch contracts shall be signed and attested 
as they direct from time to time. They may, from time to time, engage, remove, 
or discharge all managers, salesmen, or employees of any description required 
to conduct any such business, and fix their duties, salaries, or other remuner- 
ation, at such rates, and require them to give such security, either in the forms 
hereinafter contained, or in such other forms approved of by them, as they 
determine. They shall decide on the evidence to be produced for establishing 
the claim of any nominee, executor, administrator, or official trustee to any 
share in the society; and may institute, prosecute, compromise, or refer to 
arbitration any suit, debt, liability, or claim against, by, to, or on the society ; 
and in any case for which the rules of the society do not expressly provide, may 
exercise any power which could be exercised by the society in general meeting 
other than such as by the act is required to be exercised by such meetings, and 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 103 

so that in the exercise of any such powers they do nothing inconsistent with 
the previous resolutions of such meetings. And all acts or orders done or given 
by the committee in the name and on behalf of the society under any power 
hereby given them, shall bind the society and every member thereof as fully 
as if they had been acts or orders of a majority of the members of the society, 
at a general meeting thereof, acting in exercise of the powers given them by 
the rules. 

51. It shall be the duty of the committee: 

(1) To convene all meetings of the society according to the rules thereof, 
subject to the provisions hereinbefore contained as to special general meetings. 

(2) To provide proper books for entering the accounts of all business car- 
ried on on behalf of the society, and the minutes of all meetings thereof and 
of their own proceedings, and for making all such entries as are hereby re- 
quired or as any general meeting may direct. 

(3) To provide such forms as are necessary in consequence of the provisions 
of the rules, and for the same being kept, made up, or used in such manner as 
in their discretion they think desirable. 

(4) To provide a sufficient supply of copies of the annual returns and books 
of rules to comply with the directions of rule 85. 

52. The committee shall prepare a statement of the accounts of the society 
in such forms as the ordinary business meetings direct from time to time, and 
lay them, duly audited by the persons appointed to audit the same, before each 
ordinary business meeting, unless such meetings direct otherwise, and in that 
case before such meetings as they may direct, accompanied by a report on the 
position of the affairs of the society, signed by the chairman of the meeting at 
which such report is adopted. 

53. The committee shall meet at such times and places as they may from time 
to time direct, but shall not proceed to business unless five members are present. 
No member of the committee shall vote on a question on which he is personally 
interested. 

54. Every meeting of the committee shall have a chairman, who shall be the 
president of the society if present, and in his absence the vice president, who 
shall be one of their number, and be appointed by the committee, and in his 
absence such one of the members of the committee as they appoint. The ma- 
jority of votes shall decide, but the chairman shall have a second or casting 
vote. 

55. A special meeting of the committee may be called by the president or sec- 
retary, by a notice in writing given to the secretary, or by five members one 
clear day before such time. The secretary shall communicate every such notice 
to all members of the committee as soon as possible after the receipt thereof, 
and no other business shall be done at the meeting than the business named 
therein. 

56. The committee may delegate any of the powers hereby given to them to a 
subcommittee of its own members, who shall, in the functions intrusted to them, 
conform in all respects to the instructions given them by the committee. 

LOCAL COMMITTEES. 

57. Any ordinary business meeting may provide for the appointment of a 
local committee for any purpose which appears to it likely to promote any 
object of the society, and may assign for the action of any such committee any 
dis'rict which it thinks fit. 

58. A local committee shall consist of such number of members, appointed in 
such way, either by nomination of the committee or election of the members, 
whether generally or under any local limitation, as the meeting authorizing its 
appointment directs. 

59. A local committee shall be governed by the following: 

(1) A local committee shall at the first meeting after its appointment, and 
afterwards at the first meeting in each year from that date, elect a chairman 
and a secretary, each of whom shall continue in office for 12 months if they 
continue on such committee, and shall be reeligible, and shall fill up vacancies 
in either office as they may arise. 

(2) The secretary of a local committee shall convene all meetings thereof 
and keep a record of the attendances of the members and the resolutions come 
to, and shall return to the committee the names and addresses of any members 
not appointed by the committee as soon as possible after their appointment. 



104 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

(3) A local committee shall discharge any local work which the committee 
may require it to undertake, and shall be specially charged with the duty 
(a) of visiting any branch belonging to the society in the district assigned to it; 
(6) of advising with the manager thereof on any matter in their judgment tend- 
ing to the improvement of the management or the increase of its sales; (c) of 
bringing before the committee anything relating to the quality or price of the 
goods, or the conduct of the business at any such branch, which appears to it 
to be faulty. 

(4) A local committee may be employed to take the stock of any such branch. 

(5) A local committee shall have the primary duty of seeking to add new 
members, and inducing the members to support the society, and thus keeping 
up and developing the principles and benefits of cooperation. 

(6) No local committee shall have authority to pledge the credit of the so- 
ciety, or involve it in any expense, except in virtue of a written order signed by 
the secretary of the society, and to the extent therein expressed. 

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY. 

60. There shall be a president of the society, who shall take the chair, if 
present, at all meetings of the society or the committee; and he shall sign the 
reports to be laid before the meetings of the society, which shall be previously 
submitted to, and approved of by, the committee. 

(1) He shall be elected at the first ordinary business meeting in each year. 

(2) He must be a member of the society, and shall be disqualified from office 
by the same circumstances which are disqualifications for a committee man, and 
shall be removable from office by such a majority as can remove a committee 
man. 

(3) He shall be reeligible, and if no successor is appointed on the termina- 
tion of his office shall continue in office until the next regular period of election. 

(4) A vacancy in his office shall be filled up at the next ordinary business 
meeting after it occurs, and if not then filled up by the members may be filled 
up by the committee. 

(5) The person appointed to fill up a vacancy shall continue in office only 
till the regular time of election, subject to provision (3). 

61. The secretary of the society shall be appointed by the committee. He 
shall summon and attend all meetings of the society and of the committee, and 
of any subcommittee, if so required by the committee, and shall keep minutes 
thereof in such a manner as the committee direct. He shall make such returns 
relating to the business of the society as the committee require; shall have 
charge of the documents and other papers of the society, and if required by the 
committee shall keep the accounts in such manner as they direct; and shall 
keep all the books relating to shares or loans required to be kept under the rules 
of the society, and the list of members, and shall receive all contributions, fines, 
and other payments due from the members to the society, and keep the accounts 
thereof, and pay ovei the amount so received as the committee directs. He 
shall prepare and send all returns to the registrar, and shall in all things act in 
the discharge of his duties under the direction and control of the committee. 

62. It shall be the duty of every officer of the society having the receipt or 
charge of any moneys thereof, his executors or administrators, at such time as 
the society may direct, and subject thereto as the committee require, or upon 
demand made, or notice in writing given or left at his last or usual place of 
residence, to give in his account, as may be required by the society or the com- 
mittee, to be examined and allowed or disallowed by them, and on the like de- 
mand or notice to pay over all moneys and deliver all property for the time 
being in his hands or custody to such person as the society or the committee 
appoint. 

63. The ordinary business meetings shall from time to time determine the 
remuneration of the president, treasurer, committee men, or any other member 
for their services as they think fit. 

64. It shall be the duty of every person holding any office touching the re- 
ceipt or charge of any moneys of the society, under such penalty as the society 
may direct, and subject thereto the minimum penalty attached to an offense 
under the act, before entering on the execution of his office, either to enter into 
an agreement or to become bound, with or without a surety as the committee 
require, or to give the security of a guaranty society in such sum as they direct, 
for rendering a full and true account of all moneys received or paid by him on 
account of the society, at such times as the rules fix or as the committee require, 
and for the payment of all sums due from him to the society. 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 105 

CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. 

65. All goods sold by the society shall be paid for on delivery or, if the com- 
mittee so direct, on order. 

66. All moneys received from the members or otherwise on behalf of the 
society shall be dealt with as the general meetings direct from time to time, 
and, subject thereto, shall be placed to the account of the society with such 
bank as the committee may select ; and if not impracticable with some banking 
society or company which is a member of the Cooperative Union ; and, if the 
moneys of the society can not conveniently be thus disposed of, sball be kept in 
such custody as the committee direct from time to time. 

67. When a banking account is opened, all payments above such sum as the 
general meetings fix from time to time, and; subject thereto £5 shall be made 
by checks, signed as the society may direct and subject thereto by two of the 
committee countersigned by the secretary. 

68. The seal of the society shall be in the custody of the secretary ; and shall 
be used only under the authority of a resolution of the committee, the date 
whereof shall be mentioned on the instrument to which the seal is attached ; 
and shall be attested by the signatures of two members of the committee and 
the countersign of the secretary. 

69. A member who has any complaint to make as to the quality, quantity, or 
price of any goods supplied by the society, or the conduct of any officer or 
servant of the society, or any suggestions for better carrying into effect the 
objects of the society, shall send the particulars of such complaint or suggestion 
to the committee, who shall inquire into and decide upon them, subject to an 
appeal from any such decision to an ordinary business meeting ; but no such 
complaint shall be brought before any such meeting except on appeal. 

70. Except the committee should direct otherwise in any case, the holding 
shares in the society shall not be required as a condition of employment. 

EVIDENCE. 

71. The minutes of all meetings of the society or committee, containing such 
particulars as the committee direct from time to time, shall be regularly re- 
corded by the secretary ; and the minutes of every ordinary business meeting 
of the society, and of every meeting of the committee, shall be read at the next 
of such meetings respectively, and signed by the chairman of the meeting at 
which they are so read, and the minutes of every special general meeting shall 
be read at the meeting of the committee following, and signed by the chairman 
of such meeting; and all minutes so signed shall, in the absence of evidence to 
the contrary, be taken as between the society and every member thereof to be 
a true statement of any matter therein contained, subject to the correction of 
any patent error. 

72. Every member shall be taken to have due notice of every meeting, resolu- 
tion, or other matter of which notice is required by the rules of the society to 
be given, if the same is made known in such manner as the society may direct. 

THE AUDITORS. 

73. (1) There shall be, subject to the appointment of any public auditor, two 
or more auditors of the society, who shall retire annually as the society directs. 

(2) A retiring auditor shall be reeligible. 

(3) A vacancy in the appointment of an auditor may be filled up by the 
committee. 

(4) No servant of the society can be auditor. 

(5) Any such meeting, in lieu of electing an auditor, may direct that the 
accounts shall be audited by a public auditor appointed under the act named 
thereby ; the elective auditors to be suppressed for the time being. 

(6) Any subsequent general meeting may vary such direction by substituting 
the name of another public auditor, or by a resolution whereof notice has been 
given as in the case of a special general meeting, may rescind the same ; and 
thereupon the meeting shall elect auditors, who shall retire and be reeligible 
as is provided by clauses (1) to (3). 

74. (1) The auditors shall audit the accounts of the society to be prepared 
by the committee as hereinbefore provided, for the period intervening from the 
formation of the society, or their last audit, to such time as the society may 
direct, and subject thereto to the beginning of the last calendar month previous 



106 COOPEBATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

• 

to each ordinary business meeting, and shall lay before it a balance sheet of 
the receipts and expenditure of the society during the period to which the 
audit extends, and a statement of its assets and liabilities at the time of such 
audit, both signed by them, which shall specify the total amount of all moneys 
borrowed by the society, distinguishing the character of the securities on which 
each is obtained. . 

(2) The auditors shall examine the annual return aftermentioned, and verify 
the same, with the accounts relating thereto, and shall either sign the same 
as found by them correct* duly vouched, and in accordance with law, or specially 
report to the society in what respects they find it incorrect, unvouched, or not 
in accordance with law. 

75. The auditors shall be entitled to call for and examine any paper or docu- 
ment belonging to the society, and shall make a special report to the society 
upon any matter connected with the accounts which appears to them to require 
notice. 

76. Every balance sheet signed by the auditors and approved of by the meet- 
ing to which it is presented, shall be binding on all members of the society, 
excepting as to any error therein exceeding the sum of £10, brought before the 
next ordinary business meeting. 

77. A copy of the last balance sheet of the society and of the report of the 
auditors shall be kept always hung up in a conspicuous place in the registered 
office of the society. 

78. The auditors shall receive such remuneration as the ordinary business 
meetings vote them from time to time. 

INSPECTION ON ORDER OF THE REGISTRAR. 

79. (1) An application may be made under section 15 of the act (a) to ap- 
point one or more inspectors to examine into the affairs of the society, and to 
report thereon; (1)) to call a special meeting of the society in manner and for 
the purposes provided by such section. 

(2) The application may be made (a) if the number of members does not 
amount to 1,000, by one-tenth part thereof; (6) if it amounts to 1,000, but does 
not exceed 10,000, by 100 members; (c) if it exceeds 10,000, by 500 members. 

(3) The application must be supported by such evidence for the purpose of 
showing that the applicants have good reason for requiring such inspection to be 
made or meeting called, and are not actuated by malicious motives therein, and 
be made on such notice to the society as the chief registrar directs. 

(4) Unless the registrar to whom it is made directs otherwise, all expenses 
of and incidental to any inspection or meeting ordered by him shall be defrayed 
out of the funds of the society. 

ANNUAL RETURN. 

80. (1) The committee shall, at such time before the 1st day of April in each 
year as they determine, send to the registrar a general statement, to be called 
the annual return, of the receipts and expenditures, funds, and effects of the 
society as audited, which (a) shall show separately the expenditure in respect 
of the several objects of the society; (&) shall be made up to the 31st day of 
December then last inclusively; (c) shall state whether the audit has been 
conducted by a public auditor appointed as by the act is provided, and by whom ; 
(d) if the audit has been conducted by any person other than a public auditor, 
shall state the name, address, and calling or profession of every such person, 
and the manner in which and the authoriey under which he is appointed. 

(2) Together with such return the committee shall send a copy of every 
auditor's report during the year whereto the same return relates. 

81. It shall be the duty of the committee to supply tp every member or person 
interested in the funds of the society, on his application — 

(1) Gratuitously a copy of the last annual return for the time being of the 
society. 

(2) To every person on demand a copy of the rules at such price, not exceed- 
ing 1 shilling, as the committee fix from time to time. 

PROFITS. 

82. The profits of all business carried on by or on account of the society shall 
be applied as follows : 

(1) In payment of the interest on the share capital, as per rule 19. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 107 

(2) In reduction of the value of the fixed stock and plant of the society, at 
the annual rate of 10 per cent on fixtures, and of 2\ per cent on shops, ware- 
houses, or other buildings. 

(3) In forming, by applying such percentage of the net profits after providing 
for the preceding charges as the committee determine, a reserve fund to which 
all fines shall be carried, applicable, by a resolution of the ordinary business 
meetings on the recommendation of the committee (a) to the equalization of 
dividends; (b) to meet any other contingency affecting the business of the 
bociety; (c) to any other purpose which the general meetings direct from time 
to time. 

(4) In promoting instruction, culture, or recreation by forming an education 
fund, to which 1% per cent of tbe net profits, or such larger sum as any ordinary 
business meeting may vote, shall be carried. 

(5) In paying, while the society continues a member of the Cooperative 
Union, such subscription to its funds as the society may direct. 

(6) In promoting any other social or provident purpose authorized by any 
special general meeting, or any two successive ordinary business meetings, by 
applying thereto such sums as the ordinary business meetings may vote. 

(7) The remainder of the profits shall be divided at one uniform rate per 
pound sterling among the members of the society in proportion to the amount of 
their purchases, or disposed of in such manner as may be decided by the general 
meetings of the society ; dividends not withdrawn on such division shall be 
added to the member's share account. 

83. The funds appropriated under the last-named provisions shall be applied 
for their respective objects in such manner as the ordinary business meetings 
direct from time to time, and separate accounts shall be kept thereof. In every 
case where specific funds are voted for educational, provident, or social pur- 
poses, a separate account shall be kept of all sums voted for such purposes, 
and a special committee of such number of members, appointed in such manner 
as is fixed by such ordinary business meetings from time to time, shall be 
named in each case, who shall be responsible to them for the due application of 
the funds placed under their care ; and the accounts of all such funds shall be 
regularly audited by the auditors of the society and submitted to the ordinary 
business meetings, at such periods as they direct from time to time, and subject 
thereto at each such meeting. 

DISPUTES AND EXPULSION OF MEMBERS. 

84. All disputes arising between a member or any person claiming through 
a member, or under the rules of the society, and the society or any officer 
thereof, shall be dealt with as follows : 

(1) At the first or any subsequent general meeting of the society after this 
rule is registered such number of arbitrators as the society may direct, and 
subject thereto five shall be elected, none of whom are directly or indirectly 
interested in the funds of the society. 

(2) In any case of dispute tbe secretary of the society, or such other person 
as the committee direct, shall, in the presence of the complaining party or some 
one appointed by him, write the names of the arbitrators for the time being 
upon separate pieces of paper and place them so that the names shall be con- 
cealed in a box or other receptacle, from which the complaining party or his 
representative shall draw out three, and the persons whose names are so drawn 
shall be the arbitrators to decide the dispute. 

(3) Vacancies in the number of arbitrators shall be filled by the first general 
meeting after they occur, and if not then filled by the committee. 

(4) Two arbitrators shall be competent to hear and decide any question, but 
shall, before hearing it, appoint an umpire, by whom, if they differ, the question 
shall be determined. 

(5) The costs of an arbitration shall be borne as the arbitrators direct, and 
each party shall deposit such sum as the society directs, and subject thereto 
10s. to abide their decision. 

85. A member may be expelled by the vote of two-thirds of the members 
present at a special general meeting of the society upon a charge in writing 
of conduct detrimental to the society, communicated to him by order of the com- 
mittee for such time as the society may direct, and subject thereto for one 
calendar month before the meeting. 

86. A member so expelled shall be paid the full sum paid on any shares in 
the society held by him at the date of the resolution for his expulsion ; and all 



108 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

transferable shares held by him shall be extinguished upon such payment being 
tendered, whether the member accept the tender or not, and an entry referring 
to the minutes of expulsion and the date of such tender shall be made on the 
register of shares under all such shares. 

87. No expelled member shall be readmitted except by a vote of two-thirds 
of the members present at an ordinary business meeting, on a motion of which 
notice has been given. 

ALTERATION OF RULES. 

88. Any rule of the society not declared to be fundamental in manner herein- 
after stated may be repealed or altered or any new rule be made by the mem- 
bers voting at any special general meeting by a majority of two-thirds. No 
amendment of rules is valid until registered. 

89. Application for the registration of every addition, repeal, or alteration 
shall be made to the registrar for the country where the society is established 
in manner and form required by the treasury regulations as soon as is practi- 
cable after the same has been made, and a copy thereof shall be issued with 
every copy of the rules issued after the registration thereof. 

DISSOLUTION OF SOCIETY. 

90. The society may at any time be dissolved by the consent of three-fourths 
of the members, testified by their signatures to some Instrument of dissolution 
in the form provided by the treasury regulations in that behalf. 

Building Department. 

91. The committee for the time being may, subject only to such restrictions 
and limitations as shall from time to time be imposed by the resolution of the 
members at a quarterly meeting, purchase or hold upon lease or mortgage any 
lands, together with the buildings thereon, and may build or erect any houses, 
cottages, or other buildings on any lands from time to time held by the society, 
whether for the purposes of the society or not; and may dispose of, sell, mort- 
gage, convey, or reconvey to members of the society any lands or buildings for 
the time being held by the society, and appropriate to the use of the society 
any moneys received in respect of such land and buildings. 

92. The committee may, subject to the restrictions and limitations hereinbe- 
fore mentioned, advance any moneys out of the society's funds to members of 
the society on the security of lands or buildings (not exceeding two houses to 
any one member), subject to such scale of repayment, and at such rate of in- 
terest as hereinafter mentioned, but no sum exceeding £600 shall be advanced 
by the society under these building rules to any one member, nor shall such 
advances in any case exceed 75 per cent of the ascertained value of the security 
given. No advance shall at any time be made upon the security of any prop- 
erty that shall be subject to any previous mortgage. 

MODE OF APPLICATION FOR ADVANCE. 

93. Any member desirous of receiving an advance from the society shall fill 
up and sign an application paper or schedule in such form as the committee 
shall from time to time prescribe, comprising full particulars of the situation, 
tenure, and description of the property proposed to be mortgaged or conveyed 
to the society, and stating the amount required to be borrowed ; and such appli- 
cation paper or schedule shall, together with such plans, specifications, or other 
document as shall from time to time be required by the committee, be delivered 
by the member to the secretary, who shall deliver the same, if the committee 
deem it necessary, to the surveyor of the society, with a notice requiring him 
to examine the said property in case the same shall be built, and if not built 
to examine the intended site thereof, and the plans and specifications for the 
erection thereof, and to report thereon to the committee in such form as they 
may prescribe. 

VALUATION AND INSPECTION FBES. 

94. The fees to be paid to the society for the examination and survey of all 
properties offered as security to the society, for examining plans and specifi- 
cations and estimating the cost of proposed buildings, for making a ground 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 109 

plan thereof, and furnishing the committee with a valuation shall be paid for by 
the member applying for the advance, and shall be according to the following 
scale, viz: 

f s. d. 

When the amount of the valuation shall not exceed £100 10 

Exceeding £100 and not exceeding £200 12 6 

Exceeding £200 and not exceeding £300 . 15 

Exceeding £300 and not exceeding £500 10 

The society shall be paid all traveling expenses incurred by the surveyor, and 
such additional fee for extra time as the committee may think reasonable. A 
further charge of 2s. 6d. shall also be paid for each subsequent inspection of 
buildings in course of erection and reporting thereon, or such other sum as the 
committee may prescribe. 

LEGAL EXPENSES, ETC. 

95. All legal and other expenses incurred in the transfer of any property to 
the society as security, either by conveyance or mortgage, shall be paid by the 
borrowers immediately such conveyance or mortgage is made. 

VALUATION OF PROPERTY BEFORE APPLICATION FOR ADVANCE. 

96. If any member of the society, before applying for an advance, shall be 
desirous of ascertaining what sum the committee are willing to lend upon any 
property, notice shall be given to the secretary in the manner before mentioned, 
and the surveyor shall, if required by the committee, inspect the said property 
nnd make his report thereon, after which the committee shall make known to 
the said person the sum they will advance thereon, on the conditions herein con- 
tained, and the person on whose behalf the inspection and valuation has been 
made shall pay all the expenses thereof, whether a loan be effected or not. 

PAYMENTS ON BUILDINGS IN COURSE OF ERECTION. 

97. In the case of any building in course of erection, the member shall be 
entitled to receive a proportionate part of the advance agreed upon when the 
said building shall have been raised to the height of the first floor, a propor- 
tionate part thereof when the building shall have been covered in or fully slated, 
and the remaining portion when the said building shall be completed according 
to the plans and specifications thereof, and to the satisfaction and approval of 
the society's surveyor or the committee. 

SECOND ADVANCE. 

98. The committee shall have power to make a second advance on the same 
property to any member, provided that at least one-half of the money already 
borrowed shall have been repaid, such advance to be subject to the valuation of 
the society's surveyor. 

INTEREST. 

99. Interest shall be charged at the rate of 4 per cent per annum, and shall 
be calculated on the balance due to the society at the end of each month. 

ACCOUNT BOOK. 

100. An account book, in which all deposits, contributions, and fines shall be 
entered, shall be supplied to each member on whose behalf an advance has 
been made, and for which he shall pay a fee of 1 shilling. 

REPAYMENTS. 

101. All advances shall be repayable by monthly or quarterly instalments, 
according to the table appended to these rules; the repayment to commence 
from the time the society notifies him that the house is tenantable. He may, 
if he choose, pay more than such rate, and may cease to pay until such prepay- 
ments are exhausted. 



110 COOPERATION AND THE, COST OF LIVING. 

EXEMPTION FROM CONTRIBUTIONS. 

102. Should a member have repaid, by contribution, 10 per cent of the money 
advanced, he may, in case of distress or inability, be allowed three months' 
exemption from contributions, and a like exemption for every additional 10 
per cent he shall have repaid; but the sum total of alL exemptions at any time 
allowed a member shall not exceed three months for each tenth part of the 
money advanced to him. 

WORKING EXPENSES, RATES, ETC. 

103. In addition to his ordinary repayment, each member shall pay all ground 
rents, rates, and taxes to which the property may be liable on which an advance 
has been made ; also, if the advance does not exceed £150, the sum of 2s. ; ex- 
ceeding £150 and not exceeding £300, the sum of 3s. ; ^exceeding £300 and not 
exceeding £600, the sum of 4s. 6d. per annum shall be paid for office expenses. 

FINES FOR ARREARS. 

104. Any member having neglected to pay the installments due in accordance 
with the provisions of the foregoing rules, and not being entitled to exemption, 
shall, at the discretion of the committee, be fined for such neglect the sum of 
sixpence for every pound sterling, or part of a pound, due on such installment 
at the end of a quarter, which fine shall be enforced and added to the member's 
account and considered a debt due to the society. 

In the event ©f any member being in arrears of fines and subscriptions equal- 
ing together the amount of his subscriptions for 12 months, the society shall at 
once take possession of the property. 

POWER OF EVICTION AND DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY. 

105. In the event of any member failing to comply with any or all of the 
agreements entered into between him and the society, the committee shall have 
power to evict such member and take immediate possession of his property and 
dispose of the same by public auction, private contract, or otherwise, as they 
may deem advisable ; and any costs thereby incurred shall be added to the mem- 
ber's account with the society. Should a member be evicted under the powers 
aforesaid, and the property taken over does not realize the amount in which the 
said member is indebted, including all interest and fines due to the society, the 
difference between the amount so realized and the amount owing shall be a 
debt due from the said member to the society, recoverable by ordinary process 
of law ; but should the amount realized be more than the amount owing, the 
balance, after deducting the cost of putting the property in repair before such 
disposal as aforesaid, and any other charges that may have been incurred, shall 
be paid to such member, without interest, within six calendar months of his 
eviction. 

POWER OF ASSIGNMENT. 

106. Any member who, under these rules, has acquired an interest in any 
property, may, subject to the approval of the society, assign his interest therein 
to any person not a member, who will, on such assignment being executed, pay 
to the society the balance then due for the purchase of such property ; or to 
any other person, being a member of the society, upon giving to the society a 
written notice of the sale, signed by himself and such member, and containing 
an undertaking by the assignee to discharge all liabilities to the society due 
from the assignor ; and thereupon such assignee shall be substituted into all 
rights, and become liable to all claims which subsist or could be made in re- 
spect of the property assigned between or by the society and the assignor. 

ASSIGNMENT FEE. 

107. In all cases of transfer or assignment, a fee of 2s. and 6d. shall be paid 
by the member, or person acting on the part of such member by whom the 
transfer or assignment is made, together with any other costs that may be 
incurred, unless otherwise ordered by the committee. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. Ill 

DEATH OE LUNACY. 

108. If any member who, under these rules, has acquired an interest in any 
property dies, or is declared a lunatic, before the repayment of the advance on 
such property is completed, the society shall, on the application in writing of 
the legal personal representative of such deceased member, or of such lunatic 
member, substitute any responsible person named in such application, who shall 
sign an agreement to take upon himself the liabilities of such member toward 

, the society in respect of the said property, and to exercise, in the place of such 
member, all rights possessed by him in respect thereto. 

CONVEYANCE TO MEMBERS. 

109. When the entire cost of any property, with all interest thereon, has been 
fully paid, the society shall, at the expense of the member, cause such prop- 
erty to be released or conveyed to such member, his heirs, executors, or admin- 
istrators, according to the agreement entered into between such member and 
the society. 

REPAIRS AND RIGHT OF INSPECTION. 

110. From the time the committee declares a house tenantable, the member 
shall keep it in proper repair, to the satisfaction of the committee; and shall 
not carry on any trade, or make any alteration therein, without having first 
received the permission of the building committee in writing; the society to 
have the right of entry for inspection once in each year. 

insurance. 

111. All properties upon which the society has advanced or agreed to advance 
any money under these rules shall be insured in the name of the society, or to 
the satisfaction of the building committee. The cost of such insurance shall be 
repaid to the society (at such times as the society may appoint) by the respec- 
tive borrowers, who, in default thereof, shall be liable for the ajoiount of the 
insurance as for an equal amount of subscription in arrear. Tne policy, and 
all receipts for payment of the annual premiums, shall be deposited with the 
society. 

execution of instruments. 

112. When any transaction is entered into between the society and any 
person, and the building committee shall deem it necessary or expedient to 
grant or accept a conveyance, surrender, mortgage, transfer, agreement, bond, 
or other instrument for rendering such transaction valid and effectual, the 
society may enter into any such assurance ; and it shall be in such form, and 
contain such clauses, conditions, and provisions as the society may from time 
to time determine, and approved by the solicitors to the society. 

form of receipt to be indorsed on mortgage deed for vacating security. 

The Birmingham Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.), hereby acknowl- 
edge to have received all moneys intended to be secured by the within [or 
above] written deed. 

Dated this day of , 19—. 

(Signed^ , 

(Signed) , 

Tioo members of the Committee, 

(Countersigned) , 

Secretary. 

William Roberts, 
Joseph Eccles, 
Charles Swingler, 

Three members. 
Fred Sobey, Secretary. 



112 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



[Register No. 2252 R., Warw. Complete amendment.] 

Acknowledgment of registry of amendment of rules. — The foregoing amend- 
ment of the rules of the Birmingham Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) is 
registered under the industrial and provident societies act, 1893, this 27th day 
of April, 1904. 

J. D. S. S. 

Copy kept— J. D. S. S. 

[Register No. 2252 Warw. R. Partial amendment.] 

Acknowledgment of registry of amendment of rules. — The foregoing amend- 
ment of the rules of the Birmingham Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) is 
registered under the industrial and provident societies act, 1893, this 11th day 
of August, 1908. 

J. D. S. S. 

Copy kept— J. D. S. S. 

[Register No. 2252 Warw. R. Partial amendment.] 

Acknowledgment of registry of amendment of rules. — The foregoing amend- 
ment of the rules of the Birmingham Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) is 
registered under the industrial and provident societies act, 1893, this 5th day 
of September, 1908. 

G. C. B. 

Copy kept— G. C. B. 

Table 1. — Showing the repayment of an advance of £100 at 8s. per week, or £1 
19s. per quarter, at k per cent interest. 



Date. 


Total 
quarterly 
payments. 


Interest 
charged. 


Principal 
repaid. 


Total balance 
each quarter 

on the 
amount ad- 
vanced. 




£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 
100 




1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 


10 
19 10 
19 7 
19 5 
19 3 
19 
18 10 
18 8 
18 6 
18 3 
18 
17 9 
17 6 
17 5 
17 2 
16 11 
16 8 
16 5 
16 2 
15 11 
15 9 
15 7 
15 5 
15 3 
14 10 
14 7 
14 5 
14 3 
13 10 
13 7 
13 5 
13 3 
12 10 
12 7 
12 5 
12 
11 10 
11 7 
11 3 


19 
19 2 
19 5 
19 7 
19 9 

10 
10 2 
10 4 
10 6 
10 9 

1 1 
1 1 3 
116 
1 1 7 
1 1 10 
12 1 
1 2 4 

12 7 
1 2 10 

13 1 
13 3 
13 5 

13 7 
1 3 9 

14 2 
14 5 
14 7 

14 9 

15 2 
15 5 
1 5 7 

15 9 

16 2 
16 5 

16 7 

17 
17 2 
17 5 
17 9 


99 1 




98 1 10 


Sept. 1 


97 2 5 




96 2 10 




95 3 1 




94 3 1 


Sept. 1 


93 2 11 
92 2 7 




91 2 1 


June 1 


90 1 4 


Sept. 1 


89 4 


3d year — Dec. 1 


87 19 1 


Mar. 1 


86 17 7 


June 1 


85 16 


Sept. 1 


84 14 2 


4th year — Dec. 1 


83 12 1 


Mar. 1 


82 9 9 


June 1 


81 7 2 


Sept. 1 


80 4 4 


5th year — Dec. 1 


79 1 3 


Mar. 1 


77 18 


June 1 


76 14 7 


Sept. 1 


75 11 


6th year — Dec. 1 


74 7 3 


Mar. 1 


73 3 1 


June 1 


71 18 8 


Sept. 1 


70 14 1 


7th year — Dec. 1 


69 9 4 


Mar. 1 


68 4 2 


June 1 


66 18 9 


Sept. 1 


65 13 2 


8th year — Dec. 1 


64 7 5 


Mar. 1 


63 1 3 


June 1 


61 14 10 


Sept. 1 


60 8 3 


9th year — Dec. 1 


59 1 3 


Mar. 1 


57 14 1 


June 1 


56 6 8 




54 18 11 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



113 



Table 1. — Showing the repayment of an advance of £100 at 3s. per week, or £1 
19s. per quarter, at 4 per cent interest — Continued. 



Date 



Total 
quarterly 
payments. 



Interest 
charged. 



Principal 
repaid. 



Total balance 
each quarter 

on the 
amount ad- 
vanced. 



10th year- 
11th year- 
12th year- 
13th year- 
14th year- 
15th year- 
16th year- 
nth year- 
18th year- 



-Dec. 
Mar. 
June 
Sept. 
-Dec. 
Mar. 
June 
Sept. 
-Dec. 
Mar. 
June 
Sept. 
-Dec. 
Mar. 
June 
Sept. 
-Dec 
Mar. 
June 
Sept. 
-Dec. 
Mar. 
June 
Sept. 
-Dec. 
Mar. 
June- 
Sept. 
-Dec. 
Mar. 
June 
Sept. 
-Dec. 
Mar. 



1 19 
1 19 
1 19 
1 19 



10 10 



s. d. 

11 

10 10 

10 5 

10 2 

9 10 

9 7 

9 2 

9 

8 7 

8 5 

8 

7 10 

7- 5 

7 2 

6 10 

6 5 

6 2 

5 10 

5 5 

5 2 

4 10 

4 5 

4 2 

3 10 

3 5 

3 

2 10 

2 5 

2 

1 7 

1 2 

10 

9 

5 



£ s 



d. 
8 
8 2 
8 7 

8 10 

9 2 
9 5 
9 10 

10 



11 10 

12 2 
12 7 

12 10 

13 2 
13 7 

13 10 

14 2 
14 7 

14 10 

15 2 



7 

2 
7 


1 17 5 
1 17 10 
1 18 2 
1 18 3 
10 5 



£ s 
53 
52 
50 
49 
47 
46 
44 
43 
41 
40 
38 
37 
35 
34 
32 
30 
29 
27 
25 
24 
22 
20 
18 
17 
15 
13 
11 
9 
8 
6 
4 
2 



. d. 

10 11 

2 9 



16 11 
6 11 

16 6 
5 11 

14 11 
3 9 



12 2 
4 

8 2 

15 7 
2 9 

9 7 

16 

2 2 
8 

13 5 

18 7 

3 5 

7 10 
11 10 
15 8 

19 1 
2 1 

4 8 
6 10 

8 8 
10 5 



Table II. — Showing the repayment of an advance of £100 at js. per tccek, or £2 
12s. per quarter, at 4 per cent interest. 



Date. 


Total 
quarterly 
payments. 


Interest 
charged. 


Principal 
repaid. 


Total balance 
each quarter 

on the 
amount ad- 
vanced. 


Dec. 1 


£ s. d. 

2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 
2 12 


£ s. d. 

10 
19 8 
19 3 
19 
18 9 
18 6 
18 3 
18 
17 3 
17 
16 9 
16 6 
15 9 
15 6 
15 3 
15 
14 6 
14 3 
14 
13 9 
12 9 
12 6 
12 3 


£ s. d. 

1 12 
1 12 4 
1 12 9 
1 13 
1 13 3 
1 13 6 
1 13 9 
1 14 
1 14 9 
1 15 
1 15 3 
1 15 6 
1 16 3 
1 16 6 
1 16 9 
1 17 
1 17 6 
1 17 9 
1 18 
1 18 3 
1 19 3 
1 19 6 
1 19 9 


£ s. d. 
100 


Mar. 1 


98 8 


June 1 


96 15 8 


Sept, 1 

1st year — Dec. 1 


95 2 11 
93 9 11 


Mar. 1 


91 16 8 


June 1 


90 3 2 


Sept, 1 


88 9 5 


2d year — Dec. 1 


86 15 5 


Mar. 1 


85 8 


June 1 


83 5 8 


Sept. 1 


81 10 5 


3d year — Dec. 1 


79 14 It 


Mar. 1 


77 IS S 


June 1 


76 2 2 


Sept. 1 


74 6 5 


4th year — Dec. 1 


72 8 5 


Mar. 1 


70 10 11 


June 1 


68 13 2 


Sept. 1 


66 15 2 


5th year— Dec. 1 


64 16 11 


Mar. 1 


G2 17 8 


June 1 


60 18 2 


Sept. 1 


58 18 5 



34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 8 



114 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



Table II. — Showing the repayment of an advance of £100 at 4s. per week, or £2 
12s. per quarter, at 4 per cent interest — Continued. 



Date. 



Total 
quarterly 
payments. 



Interest 
charged. 



Principal 
repaid. 



Total balance 
each quarter 

on the 
amount ad- 
vanced. 



6th year- 


-Dec. 1 




Mar. 1 




June 1 




Sept. 1 


7th year- 


-Dec. 1 




Mar. 1 




June 1 




Sept. 1 


8th year- 


-Dec. 1 




Mar. 1 




June 1 




Sept. 1 


9th year- 


-Dec. 1 




Mar. 1 




June 1 




Sept. 1 


10th year- 


-Dec. 1 




Mar. 1 




June 1 




Sept. 1 


11th year- 


-Dec. 1 




Mar. 1 




June 1 




Sept. 1 


12th year- 


-Dec. 1 




Mar. 1 



s. d. 

12 

11 3 

11 

10 9 

10 6 



8 



£ s. d. 

2 
9 
1 

1 
1 

2 
2 
2 
3 
4 
4 
5 
5 
5 
6 



2 10 
2 10 
2 11 
2 2 



6 9 

7 3 

7 9 

8 3 

8 9 

9 3 
9 9 

3 
9 
3 
5 



£ s. d. 

56 18 5 

54 17 8 

52 16 8 

50 15 5 

48 ft 11 

46 11 8 

44 9 2 

42 6 5 

40 3 5 

37 19 5 

35 14 11 

33 9 11 

31 4 5 

28 18 8 

26 12 5 

24 5 8 

21 18 5 

19 10 8 

17 2 5 

14 13 8 
12 4 

9 14 

7 4 

4 13 

2 2 



NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

The Nottingham Cooperative Society (Ltd.) was established in 1863. The 
idea that gave birth to its foundation was the result of a report that the 
cotton operators of Yorkshire and Lancashire, during the hard times then 
prevalent, were enabled to avoid suffering by falling back upon their savings 
invested in what they called " The Cooperative Society." This society at the 
time was a novel institution, but its principles and their satisfactory results so 
favorably impressed two Nottingham manufacturers, Mr. Thomas Bayley and 
Mr. Benjamin Walker, who were deeply interested in the welfare of their work- 
people, that they recommended the establishment of a similar society to their 
employees. The following minute records the first meeting : 

"March 28, 1863. 

"At a meeting held in the temperance reading room, the subject of ' coopera- 
tion ' was introduced by Mr. Thomas Bayley and Mr. B. Walker. 

" The subject seemed to meet with the approbation of all present, and after 
a prolonged discussion the following proposition was passed: 

" Proposed by Mr. A. Sketchley and seconded by Mr. T. Aram, that we enter- 
tain the idea of establishing a cooperative store for the sale of provisions, etc., 
in Lenton, Nottingham." 

No time was lost, apparently, for at the end of the year 1863 the secretary 
of the society could report sales amounting to $10,000. The society prospered 
greaily, its sales increasing by leaps and bounds until 1882, when a severe 
reverse in its fortunes was experienced and a period of depression set in which 
extended over a decade. The following table shows the progress made from 
the establishment of the society until 1880: 

1863 $10,000 

1870 130,000 

1880 288,500 

The next table gives an annual statement of sales during the period of de- 
pression : 

1882 $200,000 

H883 145,000 

1884 140,000 

1885 130,000 

1886 110,000 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 115 

After this the fortunes of the society began to mend, and the table below 
shows the rapid progress made during the last 20 years: 

1890 $155,500 

1900 335,000 

1910 1, 205, 879 

The sharp decline between 1880 and 1S90 was brought about by a combina- 
tion of adverse circumstances, but chiefly by a loss of confidence in the society's 
solvency when the balance sheet for the second quarter in 1882 showed a heavy 
loss in assets and no profits accruing to members. This balance sheet was the 
result of a discovery that depreciation in value of stock had not been written off 
sufficiently for several years. A meeting of the committee of management de- 
cided somewhat rashly — that instead of gradually writing down the stock to 
market value, the total depreciation should be written off at once. In conse- 
quence, not only did the members miss their quarterly returns, but the balance 
sheet disclosed a heavy shrinkage in assets. A panic ensued, during which, in 
a few months, between $100,000 and $150,000 was withdrawn from the share 
capital. At about the same time the society was faced with the embarrass- 
ments of an embezzlement on the part of an official and a loss of $10,000 
through investing in a coal mine that proved a failure. However, in spite of 
these losses, and although no rebates on purchases could be paid for a time, the 
society points with pride to the fact that it has never failed to pay 5 per cent 
annually on the shares held by members. 

The Nottingham Cooperative Society (Ltd.) had at the end of 1910 a total 
membership of 12,543 and a paid-up capital amounting to $666,612.44, held en- 
tirely by members. The total sales for 1910 came to $1,205,879, with a net 
profit on the year's trading of $148,866. The reserve fund amounts to $36,123.50. 
In addition to paying the shareholders 5 per cent on their investment, the 
society declared a dividend of 48 cents on every $4.86 purchased. 

The laws of the society require that anyone to be a member must own stock 
in the society to the extent of at least $9.73. No one member can hold more 
than $973.30 of stock. Persons may become members by paying 6 cents for 
books and 24 cents on account of shares. Anyone having thus entered is eligible 
to all the benefits of a member who has paid up his shares. The two transfer- 
able shares of $4.86 each, required by rule, may be paid by installments of 78 
cents per quarter, or persons may allow their dividends (made by trading at 
the stores) to remain with the society until their shares be paid up, making it 
possible for the poorest to become members and shareholders. 

The Nottingham Cooperative Society (Ltd.) is a strictly local enterprise, and 
its dealings, amounting to nearly a million and a quarter dollars during the 
last year, represent the purchases of local families, largely of the working class. 
It comprises the following departments : Grocery and provisions, 33 branches ; 
drapery, boots and shoes, furniture, etc., 3 branches; tailoring and outfitting, 1 
shop; butchering, 12 branches; coal, 3 depots (bag coal, weekly deliveries 
throughout city and district) ; insurance (life, fire, burglary, etc.), 1 office; 
excursion and railway-ticket agency, 1 office; boot and shoe repairing, 1 shop; 
butchers' stores and abattoirs. 1 depot; bakeries (14 ovens), 3 branches; con- 
fectionery (4 ovens), 3 branches; farms (3 holdings), 366 acres; painting and 
decorating, 1 shop. 

Nearly all of the above departments are separately housed and are distrib- 
uted generally throughout the city. They are, however, under the management 
of a single committee, to whose discretion is left the selection and appointments 
of the staff. The committee is elected annually by the society. A member of 
the society, of course, is entitled to a dividend on the total amount of trade 
done with any and all of the above departments. 

A recent development is the acquisition of three farms, one at Carlton, one 
at Ruddington, and one at Bradmore, all within 5 miles of the city, and amount- 
ing in all to 366 acres. Two of these were acquired three years ago and the 
other a year later. The farming so far has been largely experimental, but the 
results have been satisfactory on the whole and show a modest profit. The 
products are chiefly potatoes, purchased and distributed by the society's grocery 
shops; wheat, which is sold to and ground by the Cooperative Wholesale So- 
ciety, of Manchester; hay and straw for the horses (80 in number) employed 
in connection with the Nottingham depots; and, to a lesser extent, attention is 
given to milch cows and the rearing and breeding of cattle destined for the 
society's butcheries. 



116 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

While a local enterprise, in so far as its members and its sales are concerned, 
the Nottingham Cooperative Society (Ltd.), is largely interested in the Coop- 
erative Wholesale Society of Manchester. This latter has connections through- 
out the world. It is an amalgamation of about 1,200 retail societies and exists 
for the purpose of manufacturing in all branches of industry as well as under- 
taking purchases of goods of outside origin in large quantities. The Coopera- 
tive Wholesale Society is said to own the largest boot and shoe factory in Great 
Britain, as well as the largest flour mill. 

The Nottingham society owns shares in the Cooperative Wholesale Society 
to the extent of just over $60,000. It has also invested in the form of a loan 
to the wholesale society the sum, in round numbers, of $145,000. The whole- 
sale society, furthermore, in its capacity of banker, has on deposit the current 
account balance of the Nottingham society, amounting at present to $85,000. 
Thus, the local society is involved in the wholesale society, in one way and 
another, to the extent of $290,000. As stated above, the Nottingham Coopera- 
tive Society is a strictly local and independent organization, and it may be said, 
although it sounds paradoxical, that while the Nottingham society is inter- 
ested to a great extent in the wholesale society, the wholesale society is not 
interested in the Nottingham society. That is to say. the Nottingham society, 
having a large amount ©f its funds invested in the wholesale society, is deeply 
interested and involved in the welfare of the latter, whereas the wholesale 
society owns no share in the capital of the Nottingham society, exercises no 
influence in the management of the Nottingham society, and has no relationship 
to the latter other than the relationship of a manufacturer and wholesaler to 
a customer. 

The Nottingham society has drawn the following revenues from the wholesale 
society during the last six months: Interest on shares, $1,520.77: interest on 
loan, $2,298.44; interest on deposit, $1,016.96; dividend on purchases, $4,148.52. 

The return on the loan, apparently, for the last half year is little more than 
at the rate of 3 per cent per annum. The secretary of the local society says, 
in explanation, that the loan is not subject to a fixed rate of interest, the rate 
varying considerably, and that the present showing is not to be taken as 
definite. 

In purchasing supplies the Nottingham Cooperative Society gives preference 
to the Cooperative Wholesale Society of Manchester. On the total amount 
of purchases from the wholesale society, the Nottingham society receives a 
dividend of 8 cents on every $4.86 purchased. In last year's trade, 66 per 
cent of the goods sold by the local society were procured from the whole- 
sale society, a large part of the goods being of the manufacture of the 
latter society. If goods required by the local society are neither manufac- 
tured nor carried in stock by the wholesale society, it is customary to buy 
through the wholesale society, which in this case acts as purchasing agent. 
The wholesale society aims at making a profit on its transactions, but this profit 
comes back in turn to the retail society in the form of a dividend on the 
amount purchased. Of the Nottingham society's turnover for the last year, 
34 per cent of the total was of outside and independent origin, but this con- 
sisted chiefly of fresh vegetables, fresh milk, and other articles not obtainable 
from the wholesale society. 

Goods are delivered to the customer's door in ordinary grocers' and bakers' 
wagons, the society employing 80 horses in the city for the purposes of delivery 
and supply. The prices charged by the society are the same as those charged 
by independent retailers, the profits being returned in quarterly divideuds to 
members. At present these profits amount to about 10 per cent on the amount 
purchased, and as the purchase price is the same as at an ordinary shop the 
saving to members of the society may be stated as 10 per cent. 

The attitude of the society toward noncooperative stores is simply that they 
claim to have the right to set up for themselves, sell at usual retail prices, and 
divide the net profits between themselves. Private shopkeepers sometimes 
assert that the management of the cooperative societies do not exercise the 
same energy and business acumen as the private dealer, and that consequently 
the society in some cases has to sell at slightly more than market price in 
order to show a profit. This, of course, is a mooted question. At all events 
there is no sharp friction between the two parties. What little exists evinces 
itself only in the private tradesman's unwillingness, in case he runs short of an 
article during a busy day, to turn to a cooperative shop for temporary supply ; 
this feeling to the same degree being shown by the cooperative stores. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 117 

The Nottingham Cooperative Society (Ltd.), is in touch with the International 
Cooperative Alliance, of Manchester, a society that meets periodically to discuss 
cooperation in foreign countries, and is largely concerned with the propaganda 
of interest in the ideas of cooperation. Any society or individual in the United 
States desirous of information with regard to the cooperative movement and 
system would do well to write to the Cooperative Alliance, Manchester. 

There is also The Midland Farmers' Cooperative Association (Ltd.), with 
offices in Lincoln Street. Nottingham. This association was registered under 
the friendly societies' act, in November, 1906, and began business in February, 
1007, the interval being occupied in canvassing the district and enrolling mem- 
bers. The district covered by the association practically coincides with the 
Nottingham consular district, embracing Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leices- 
tershire, and the greater part of Lincolnshire. The object of the society is to 
carry on, for the benefit of members, the industry of wholesale and retail dealers 
in agricultural requirements and produce, in dairy products, eggs and poultry, 
farm and garden products, and, in general, to buy supplies for farmers at the 
lowest wholesale rate, and to sell farm products in the most favorable market. 
The capital of the association is raised by shares of the nominal value of $1.21, 
and one share has to be taken for every 10 acres or part of 10 acres in the occu- 
pation of the person desirous of becoming a member. Payment for shares is as 
follows, viz, one-fourth (30 cents per share) upon application and the balance 
as the committee may decide. It is not anticipated, however, that any further 
call will be necessary. A member occupying 100 acres would, therefore, have 
to pay upon application 10 shares at 30 cents per share, or $3, and would be 
responsible for a further sum of $9.11 in such amounts as may be called up 
from time to time, upon payment of which all liability on his part ceases, the 
liability of the association being limited. The first charge on the net profits is 
payment of interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum upon the amount of the 
paid capital. The paid-up capital at the end of the year 1910 was $2,805.52, 
but an increase in members has added to this amount. 

The origin of the society was due to the feeling on the part of several farmers 
that in buying their supplies too large a profit went to the middleman and agent. 
The society accordingly acts as middleman, buying at the ordinary wholesale 
rates, and selling to its members at a slight profit, the net profit being dis- 
tributed annually among members. This dividend has uslially been 2 cents on 
every $4.86 purchased. But as the society does not aim at any considerable 
profit, it sells at less than retail price. In this latter respect it differs from the 
common practice of cooperative societies, which sell at current retail prices 
with a view to distributing a fair dividend on purchases. It differs again in 
refusing to sell to any but members. The society, although kindly disposed 
toward all cooperative associations, buys very little from the Cooperative 
Wholesale Society of Manchester, as the latter does not manufacture goods 
required by the Farmers' Association (chiefly fertilizers and animal foods), 
nor is the Wholesale Society in a position to purchase these articles at cheaper 
prices. 

That the farmers are benefited by the efforts of their association and regard it 
favorably may be readily surmised from the following table showing the growth 
of the organization since its establishment in February, 1907 : 



Members. 



Extent of 
dealings. 



Year ending- 
Jan. 31, 1908 

Jan. 31, 1909 

Dec. 31, 1909 (short year). 

Dec. 31, 1910 

Dec. 31, 1911 (estimated). 



250 
347 
401 
462 
600 



$77,523.34 
105, 700. 38 
103, 646. 71 
148, 428. 25 
194,660.00 



Tire 600 members farm between them 120,000 acres, an average of 200 acres 
each. Some members farm as much as several thousand acres, as, for instance, 
the corporation of Nottingham, whose sewage farm extends to 2,000 acres, the 
corporation, therefore, being a shareholder in the association to the extent of 200 
shares. The association is somewhat particular as to the standing of its mem- 
bers. The secretary informs me that he refuses membership to quite a few appli- 
cants during the course of a year. Small holders — that is, those farming 50 



118 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

acres or less — are not considered desirable, and no one is admitted whose finan- 
cial position is not secure. Farmers are required to pay cash, as much for their 
own benefit as for the society's. By insisting upon cash, the society finds that 
members limit their purchases to actual requirements, and are thus saved 
from buying a great deal of " trash." Under the installment system, as offered 
by independent houses, a clever salesman is able to induce farmers to buy 
things for which they have no need, and for which, before their purchase is 
completed, they often pay excessive rates, as was stated. 

The association neither buys nor sells live stock, but otherwise it supplies a 
farmer with everything he needs, paying him (quarterly) a dividend of 2 cents 
on every $4.86 purchased. This is much less than is usually paid by coopera- 
tive societies, but, as explained above, the farmers' association sells at less 
than the retail price and does not aim at making a profit. The society affects 
insurance against loss by fire, personal accident, workmen's compensation act, 
live stock, and motor cars, boiler or machinery, breakdown, as well as life 
insurance, its commission as agent being paid into the funds. 

An important feature is the analysis of all fertilizers and foodstuffs supplied 
to members, and the society congratulates itself upon having been the means 
of detecting frauds and putting an end to the sale of fraudulent preparations. 

A representative of the association attends all markets in the district, and a 
monthly bulletin is issued, showing the latest quotations for produce, as well 
as the price of supplies and appliances. Members are advised as to whether 
markets are favorable for selling their products or buying supplies. The asso- 
ciation either acts as commission merchant, or upon receipt of samples advises 
the farmer as to the quality of his crop and the current price that it should 
command. 

The association does not undertake delivery of goods purchased through its 
office, nor does it haul or collect produce for which it is to act as commission 
agent. The manager laid emphasis upon this feature, saying, " We have no 
stores, no warehouse, no men, no houses — and this is where we lick all creation ; 
nobody can touch our prices." 

While shipments are made simply through the usual channels, such as by 
railway and canal, care is taken to " lump " the orders and send them in bulk, 
a means whereby it is possible to obtain a minimum freight rate and by which 
small farmers can obtain small quantities at practically wholesale prices. Thus 
if 10 farmers in the same district require only half a ton of fertilizer each, a 
contract is made for 5 tons, and each of the purchasers enjoys the rate for 
large quantities. 

It is further claimed for the association that its presence has brought about a 
lowering of prices among the retailers and independent merchants, so that even 
nonmembers are benefited. 

The Midland Farmers' Cooperative Association (Ltd.), of Nottingham, is 
affiliated to the Agricultural Organization Society, of London, from which the 
local society receives assistance and is brought in contact with buyers and 
sellers from other parts of the country. 

There are no cooperative societies here of a semiprivate character, nor are 
there any modeled on the Rpchdale system. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

Samuel M. Taylor, Consul. 



SOUTHAMPTON CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

AS TO COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES. 

In accordance with the instructions of General Circular No. 66, requiring a 
report in triplicate on " Cooperation and the cost of living," I beg leave to 
submit the following report as it may relate to the topic and its general applica- 
tion to this consular district: 

The societies in force act under the provisions of the industrial and provident 
societies act, known as such. (25 and 26 Vic, c. 87, sec. 15, 1862.) All are 
registered under that act, which puts them under a certain degree of control 
and inspection, and all business done must be in accordance with the act. The 
act permitted both distributive and productive branches and took under the 
care of the law many of the efforts at cooperation betterment, for many years 
carried on on lines of individual partnership or club management, with but 
little care as to responsible action. The law put these societies under a limited 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 119 

liability, with a subscribed share capital, which, by by-law, was further limited 
in amount that any member might take. Under this general incorporative act 
uumerous small individual efforts — as the acts of a few might be called — were 
either swept away or put into line of development on better and safer lines, 
until at the present time there are found in this consular district no less than 33 
registered societies, with a membership of 35,667, with quite 100 different stores 
in successful operation, serving a large population in most of its commoner and 
everyday needs in the most satisfactory way. Of course they are largely patron- 
ized and maintained by the working-class population. They were created by 
these sturdy classes in the days when there was a very crying need for the 
protection of a good, certain, and uncontrolled food supply of the kind needed. 
Good management has generally marked all of them, and this consolidated 
statement very well bears out the fact. The present liabilities are : 

Share capital account $129,083 

Loans, including all overdrafts 275,613 

Reserve fund 76, 139 

Making a total of 1,480,895 

The records show that the greater portion of these funds have been created 
out of the operations of the work of the societies ; that is, the divided profits 
have nearly equaled these liabilities. The assets now are given at the figures 
of an official valuer as follows : 

Value of stock, buildings, lands, etc $1, 081, 009 

House property and other interest-paying investments 519, 137 

Accounts current, short time 56, 100 

Making a total value of assets 1,656,246 

The employees in the distributive departments number 724, whose annual 
wage bill was $183,067. In the productive department 203 employees are re- 
ported, with an annual wage bill of $56,105; or a total of 927 employees, re- 
ceiving $239,172. The sales during 1910 reached the large value of $3,259,401, 
upon which there was a profit of $305,966. They paid as interest on share 
capital $48,718, and as bonuses on wages of employees $5,133, and donated 
$8,545 to educational and other recognized beneficial purposes provided for in 
the rules. 

AS TO THE COST OF LIVING. 

How much of benefit have the cooperative societies been to their members 
in reducing the cost of living during the past rather expensive year is a most 
pertinent query, and the best answer to that question is found in the proceed- 
ings of the quarterly committee meeting of the Southampton Cooperative 
Society, found in the ninety-seventh quarterly report with balance sheet for the 
ninety-seventh quarter ended September 30, 1911. It should be noted here that 
every quarter a full and clear statement of the business done is made to the 
members by the committee, which committee has been previously elected by the 
members for stated terms, two retiring each year, and making sure that there 
will always be a sufficient number in charge to give intelligent control and 
direction to affairs, guarding thus against any " tidal-wave " movement. I 
quote this extract from the well-printed 12-page report for the quarter named : 

" Dividend. — Taking into consideration the high prices which have ruled in 
groceries and provisions during the summer the profits have been well main- 
tained and we recommend using the fund for the equalization of dividend £100, 
and paying a dividend of Is. 6d. in the pound sterling, as shown in the follow- 
ing. The interest on members' share capital at 5 per cent, and full depreciation 
on buildings, fixtures, etc., has been allowed. 

"Proposed division of profits. — Members' dividend on purchases, £20,345, at 
Is. 6d. in the pound sterling, £1,525 17s. 6d. (which means that each purchaser 
receives back 36 cents on each $4.86 of his purchases, or about 7 per cent, or 
$7,625 is given back to the members). The statement shows that a total sum of 
$8,785 is allotted — 5 per cent to reserve fund ; 2\ per cent to the educational fund ; 
nonmembers' dividend being 18 cents in the pound sterling, and the balance to 
sundry items of contingent expense not otherwise provided for." 

The question naturally arises, Did the members find any protection against 
the wave of high prices that seemed to be almost universal? Practically, and 
at once, the members were ahead just about 7 per cent on direct purchase. 
But that is not all. The cooperative societies of local habitation are members 
of the Cooperative Wholesale Society of the United Kingdom, operated by the 
locals by membership in the wholesale, and so they had the advantage of a 



120 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

self-control led wholesale market, were protected, and always are protected 
against unfair combinations to unduly raise prices suddenly on the market, 
and the saving there was equal to at least 3 per cent more. It should be re- 
membered that the wholesale society is in direct touch with all the providing 
markets of the world ; their buyers are on the spot in all great centers ; they 
buy for cash, take discounts where possible, and in every way the interests of 
the consuming member of the society are looked after as the only object of the 
movement. And those interests are looked after with rare business judgment 
on the part of the men chosen for the task, coupled with an unselfishness and 
devotion in the highest degree to be honored and admired. "All for each and 
each for all " is a motto that seems to find a very practical application and 
practice with these cooperative people. Then the elements of cooperative whole- 
sale production has stood in as an additional protection against combination 
prices. That branch of the work supplied a value of just above $30,000,000 
last year — the general wholesale society making sales to the enormous amount 
of above $500,000,000— the profits being no less than $65,000,000. It may be 
well to note here that no finer commercial or manufacturing buildings can be 
found in the United Kingdom than those owned and controlled by the Wholesale 
Cooperative Society. The real business life of the local cooperative store de- 
pends very largely on the protection* afforded by the workings of the wholesale 
society. From it comes the best of goods, satisfactory as to service as they 
are made honestly; the food supply is of the best and is controlled in a very 
large measure directly either in the field of production, at home or abroad, so 
making sure the quality of purity. With their own creameries in Ireland, 
bacon factories in Ireland and in Denmark (they took last year from Denmark 
no less than $16,000,000 in value in bacon, butter, and eggs), and connections 
elsewhere on same lines — about $6,000,000 in the States for similar supplies, 
but adding canned goods, in all about $35,000,000 worth imported directly by 
them — with all this support in sight local societies can and do lead a pros- 
perous business life. Then the business is all on a cash basis ; credit calls for 
interest in every department of the work, wholesale or retail, and capital be- 
longs to the members. In effect, a member of the Southampton society, and 
of all others in the Kingdom, does business with himself, both wholesale and 
retail, and gets a profit on each deal. 

Now, let us see what the local society deals in here. In the ninety-seventh 
quarter it sold, groceries, $70,000 worth; coal, $5,500; boots and shoes, 
$3,600 ; clothing, $4,500 ; meats, $4,200 ; bread and pastry supplies, $16,000, the 
total sales being roundly $115,000, the sales for the first three quarters of 1911 
being $315,000. 

About the only productive branch owned and managed by the Southampton 
Cooperative Society is a fine modern bakery, and its quarterly output in bread 
alone is an average of 260,000 loaves of bread. It was deemed wise to start this 
enterprise, to make absolutely sure that a pure product of this nature should find 
its way into consumption of its patrons by making sure first of a pure, unadul- 
terated flour, and keeping it so from bag to loaf. While a low cost is looked 
after closely, it is never done at the expense of healthful quality. Bread enters 
so largely into the menu of the working classes of all grades, and especially 
with the young is a vital upbuilding factor, so that the society here and else- 
where have made the bread problem one of sound scientific study, and backed 
fact by action. The cooperatives also believe in the rational pleasures of life, 
and all employees are given a great day somewhere during the season of recrea- 
tion, and occasionally an annual fete is given for the benefit of the children. 
Last July such an occasion was given at the Shirley Grounds, when over 6,000 
persons attended, on a paid admission — 4,000 being children — and all were 
entertained pleasantly. The affair cost about $1,100, of which $750 was paid 
from the general funds. It is deemed a profitable venture always in these 
fetes, since it brings forward in an educative way the aims and objects of the 
cooperative movement with the young, and a well-convinced young person of 
either sex is a positive gain and asset to the cause. Other ways and means 
are employed to bring along a better understanding in all classes, and the fact 
that a steady increase in membership is noted at every quarter would indicate 
that the efforts made were successful. Southampton now has over 5,000 mem- 
bers on its books. In all ttiese movements the smaller bodies find all heart and 
hope in the plain fact — it is a fact — that they are not alone. When they look 
at the latest figures of the cooperative as found in the Kingdom they indeed 
find themselves in a great host, for there are nearly 1,600 of these societies in 
successful operation, of which 117 are productive, or manufacturing, concerns. 
The membership is given at 2,661,799 persons. They have a share capital of 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 



121 



$175,360,000; they carry nearly $56,000,000 in working loans; they have a 
reserve f nnd of $23,000,000 ; the value of stock in trade is given officially at 
$61,616,000; the value of land, buildings, machinery, and fixed stock is given 
at $85,000,000, while the investments in house property is fixed at $41,400,000; 
other investments are found to the value of $78,100,000, while accounts due in 
all departments total $12,500,000. They have 71,019 employees in the distribu- 
tive departments, while in the productive departments the number employed is 
51,972. 

The distributive class received as wages $2,083,000 ; the productive class 
received no less than $14,835,000. The actual sales by the combined number of 
societies footed up for 1910 — all these figures relate to that year — the enormous 
amount of $558,000,000. The next profit for the year was $60,000,000. The 
interest on the share capital was $7,300,000, while bonuses on wages paid for 
good work well done was $376,000. Subscriptions to charitable purposes, educa- 
tion, $475,000 ; general charitable purposes, $282,300 ; and to the cooperative 
union was $54,000, or $811,000 in these subscriptions. Full charge has been 
made for depreciation of every class of property, save land — buildings, equip- 
ments, stock on hand, when on hand over a specified period — and from these 
figures the thirty-five thousand-odd members in this consular district take every 
encouragement and look forward to the enlargement of the scope of the work 
and the betterment of supplies generally finding their way into the homes of 
the great working army of men and women of the kingdom, for have they not 
the practical fact before them of an increase in 1910 of 76,506 in members over 
1909, with net increases all along the line in corresponding ratio? 

Herewith I submit as a part of this report copies in triplicate of the follow- 
ing books and documents : 

(1) Annual report of the Cooperative Wholesale Societies (Ltd.) for the 
year 1911. 

(2) The forty-third annual report of the Cooperative Union, held at Brad- 
ford, 1911. 

(3) The ninety-sixth and ninety-seventh quarterly reports and balance sheets 
of the Southampton Cooperative Society (Ltd.) for the quarters ended July 1 
and September 30, 1911. 

(4) Sundry printed leaflets on the topic of cooperation. 
Respectfully submitted, 

Albert W. Swalm, Consul. 
November 20, 1911. 



An official statement has just been issued by the Cooperative Wholesale So- 
ciety, of England, which has official connection with nearly 3,000,000 members 
of cooperative societies in the United Kingdom, showing the increase in the 
wholesale prices from 1898, taking the prices for that year, for 1906, 1908, and 
1910, and for the period of these 13 years, showing a very marked increase. 
No better authority than the Cooperative Wholesale Society could be named 
for the Kingdom, since their dealings have an annual average value of not 
less than $500,000,000-. 

The statement shows that " an average weekly family grocery order," which 
would have cost at wholesale prices about $1.29 in 1898, could only have been 
bought for a fraction over $1.46 in 1910. Thus, whereas $4.86 would have pur- 
chased over 80-pound weight of these groceries in 1898, in 1908 the purchasing 
power would have been limited to 73£ pounds, and in 1910 to 71£ pounds. The 
" average order " under review is supposed to consist of 1 pound bacon, 2 pounds 
butter, one-half pound cheese, 12 pounds flour, one-half pound lard, 1 pound 
meal, 4 pounds sugar, one-half pound tea. The following are the figures per 
pound at wholesale rates in cents upon which the calculation is based : 





1898 


1906 


1908 


1910 




9.92 

22.70 

10.48 

2.78 

6.48 

2.46 

2.98 

32.34 


13.28 

25.64 

13.10 

2.18 

9.78 

2.36 

3.66 

30.84- 


12.30 

26.16 

13.36 

2.58 

9.98 

2.66 

3.72 

31.30 


16.38 




25.74 




13.12 


Flour 


2.46 




13.66 




2.32 




U.06 


Tea 


30.90 







The sugar duty imposed in 1901 was reduced from $1 to 44 cents in 1908. 



122 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



Meanwhile, coal has advanced from an average price for house coal at the 
pit mouth of $2.42 per ton in 1898 to $3.22 per ton in 1910; or an increase 
of 33.05 per cent. 

The increased cost of living has been made a matter of report from this 
consulate several times in the past several years, and this exact statement 
from a great commercial concern fully corroborates with unquestioned figures 
all that has been said. It should be remembered that all the commodities 
named, save tea and sugar, are free from all customs duties, and have been 
for many years— at least since the South African war duties. The changes 
in value between 1898 and 1910 show the following per pound (value given in 
cents ; based on wholesale rates) : 





1910 




Increase. 


Decrease. 


Bacon and hams 


6.46 
3.G4 
2.64 




Butter 




Cheese 




Flour 




-0 32 


Lard 


7.18 




Meal 




— .14 


Sugar 


1.08 




Tea 




1 44 









Respectfully submitted. 
November 24, 1911. 



Albert W. Swalm, Consul. 



DUBLIN, IRELAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

In obedience to the department's Special Instruction No. 66, of October 12, 
1911 (file No. 165060), I have the honor to report as follows on cooperation 
and the cost of living: 

The principal and the most important cooperative society in Ireland is the 
Irish Agricultural Organization Society, together with the various cooperative 
societies throughout Ireland which are affiliated with it. The Irish Agricul- 
tural Organization Society was formed in 1894 to take up and organize the 
cooperative movement, which since 1889 some private individuals had been pro- 
moting in Ireland with such success that it had grown too large to be properly 
carried on and extended by mere individual effort. The aims of the new 
society were thus set forth iM its rules: 

" To improve the condition of the agricultural population of Ireland by teach- 
ing the principles and methods of cooperation as applicable to farming and the 
allied industries; to promote industrial organization for any purposes which 
may appear beneficial, and, generally, to counsel and advise those engaged in 
agricultural pursuits." 

At the inaugural meeting of the society in April, 1894, the president, in his 
address, said : 

" The keynote of our proposals is the proposition that the Irish farmers must 
work out their own salvation, and, further, that this can only be done by combi- 
nation among themselves " ; and he went on to say that the object of the society 
was " to bring to the help of those whose life is passed in the quiet of the field 
the experience which belongs to wider opportunities of observation and a larger 
acquaintance with commercial and industrial affairs." 

At the time of the formation of the Irish Agricultural Organization Society 
it was made up of about 30 cooperative creameries which had been established 
here and there through Ireland as the results of the efforts of individual 
propagandists. Since then over 850 other affiliated cooperative societies have 
been formed under the auspices of the Irish' Agricultural Organization Society, 
as it is called for convenience, the total number of these societies, according to 
the report for 1911, being 880, with a membership of about 100,000. These 880 
societies include 312 creameries, 79 branch creameries, 165 agricultural socie- 
ties, 237 credit societies, 18 poultry societies, 9 flax societies, 20 industries 
societies, 38 miscellaneous societies, and 2 federations, these figures being for 
the year ended December 31, 1910. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 123 

It will be seen from the above figures that the Irish Agricultural Organiza- 
tion Society, with its many affiliated, cooperative societies, includes many of 
the most important branches of agriculture and its allied industries. It in fact 
is the propagandist body in the cooperative movement here, spreading its teach- 
ing through its publication of a weekly paper, leaflets on the various phases 
of the movement, and also by sending competent organizers to explain and help 
in the formation of any proposed cooperative societies. It has been instru- 
mental in the establishment of most of the above-mentioned 880 cooperative 
societies, but it is not in itself a trading concern — that is, it neither buys nor 
sells any kind of produce or manufactured goods. One of the societies which is 
affiliated with it, the Irish Wholesale Agricultural Society (Ltd.), does engage 
in buying and selling goods to its members or to the members of any of the 
affiliated societies, but not to the general public. 

The Irish Wholesale Agricultural Society originally confined its business 
chiefty to buying and selling agricultural implements, tools, farming machinery, 
seeds, and manures, but lately is taking up the sale of all kinds of goods that 
any of its members may want to buy, and it has established a bank of its own 
for the use of its members. On visiting its premises I found that it sold such 
miscellaneous goods as seeds, manures, agricultural implements, tools, honey, 
tea, motor tires, and a long list of goods of all kinds. I learned that its mem- 
bers got such goods either directly from the society or through one of the 
affiliated societies at the usual market rates less a discount that made it desir- 
able to deal with it rather than with one of the local shops, but I was told that 
its competition tended more toward the sale of high-class goods in the local 
shops throughout the country than toward any unfair competition. In the 
case of seeds and manures, it undertakes for a small fee to get an expert 
analysis of these for any of its members whether the seeds, manures, feeding 
stuffs, etc., were purchased from the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society or 
not. This fee is merely nominal, being 24 cents for each analysis instead of 
$5.11, the usual fee for such a service. 

The objects of this Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society (Ltd.), according 
to its rules, are: "To promote the agricultural cooperative movement in Ire- 
land and the carrying on the business of wholesale and retail dealers, bankers, 
shippers, carriers, and insurers, and of any occupation, manufacture, or trade 
in any way whatsoever allied to or connected with the farming interest. * * * 
shippers, carriers, and insurers, and of any occupation, manufacture, or trade 
who may be approved of by the committee of the Irish Cooperative Agricultural 
Agency and thereafter by the directors of the Irish Agricultural Wholesale 
Society (Ltd.), * * * " and "No retailer of agricultural requirements or of 
agricultural produce, other than a society registered under the Industrial and 
Provident Society's act shall be admitted to membership." 

The Army and Navy Stores here, known as the Junior Army and Navy 
Stores (Ltd.), is merely the Dublin branch of the firm which has its head- 
quarters in London, England. This was formerly a cooperative store, which 
was supposed to only sell its goods to its members or to annual ticket holders, 
but as a matter of fact it did sell, in many cases certainly, to the general 
public. It has recently changed its rules and now sells to the general public, 
like any other business firm. Its prices are those usual for the goods it sells, 
and its competition is that of a well-managed business. 

I have talked with many merchants and retailers here regarding the effect 
on their business of the cooperative societies here, and as far as I can gather 
the impression seems to be that, while such cooperative societies do take a part 
of their trade from them, on the whole the competition does not amount to much 
and is not unfair. I have, however, noticed in the local press lately a number 
of resolutions by local bodies throughout the country protesting against the 
granting of certain funds to these societies by the Government to assist them 
in their movement, the basis of these protests being that these societies> 
especially the Irish Agricultural Organization Society and the Irish Agricultural 
Wholesale Society, do compete seriously with local traders, and that it is un- 
fair that they should receive Government support to enable them to carry out 
their work. Tne matter of whether these societies do seriously compete with 
local traders or not has become a political controversy to a considerable extent 
and it is difficult to form any definite opinion on it. The Irish Agricultural 
Organization Society applied to the department of agriculture and technical 
instruction for Ireland for a grant to assist it in its educational work in coop- 
eration, and the vice president of the department referred the application to 
the council on agriculture, making a strong objection to the grant, and the grant 



124 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

was refused on the ground that it was not right for the Government to assist 
the society owing to its work tending to create cooperative societies which 
would naturally compete with the local traders who paid part of the taxes 
from which the grants would have to be made. The vice president of the 
department of agriculture went on to say that the department itself would 
carry out the recommendation of the agricultural board regarding " noncon- 
troversial cooperation," which he defined as " every form of cooperation which 
does not bring us into direct competition and conflict with the ordinary traders 
of the country." He went on to say that " under the term ' noncontroversial 
cooperation' would come the organization of farmers engaged in fruit-growing 
and potato-growing schemes, the dead-meat and flax industries, and all similar 
branches of agricultural industry arising out of or connected with the depart- 
ment's work, in which at present the farmers are handicapped by lack of com- 
bined action in production and the marketing of their produce. * * * Non- 
controversial cooperation would also include the question of agricultural credit." 
As this address is almost entirely taken up with the question of cooperation, 
I think it well to append to this report the official report of the address taken 
from advance copies of the Journal of the Department of Agriculture and Tech- 
nical Instruction for Ireland, for January, 1912, kindly furnished to me by 
the department to-day, though it has not yet been published. 

My own view is that the agricultural cooperation here has tended toward 
raising the standard of the seeds, manures, and tools sold, and toward the 
lowering of their prices to the farmers. It has raised the standard of the 
butter produced, and has tended toward the marketing of eggs and poultry in 
better condition. It has had practically no effect on the prices of various com- 
modities, such as groceries, clothing, and the general merchandise usually sold 
in shops. As a matter of fact the prices of most commodities have increased 
from 20 per cent to as much as 40 per cent during the past 20 years, and it is 
difficult to see in what way the increase has been in any way arrested by the 
cooperative movement. 



American Consulate, 

Dublin, Ireland, February 16, 1912. 



A. Donn Piatt, 
Vice and Deputy Consul. 



American Consulate, 
Dublin, Ireland, February 16, 1912. 

The Vice President's Address. 

My Lords and Gentlemen : During the past week I have caused to be placed 
in your hands a complete copy of the official correspondence which has passed 
between the development commissioners and the department in regard to the 
making of a grant, out of the funds at the disposal of the commissioners, for 
the organization of agricultural cooperation in Ireland. I have taken this 
exceptional course because of the importance and, as I think, the gravity of 
the situation raised by it. 

DEPARTMENT'S SUBSIDY TO THE IRISH AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION SOCIETY. 

You will recollect that in November, 1907, the question of the relations be- 
tween the department and the Irish Agricultural Organization Society was 
fully discussed by this council. I announced at that meeting that, alike on 
the grounds of public policy and of necessity, I had determined to cancel the 
subsidy, amounting at the time to £3,700 a year, which the department had been 
annually paying to the organization society. In order, however, that as little 
inconvenience as possible should be caused by this action, I informed you that 
it was my intention that the grant should cease, not immediately, but at the 
end of three years. A motion was then made disapproving of my policy of 
delay, insisting upon the immediate withdrawal of the grant and calling upon 
the department itself to undertake the work of agricultural organization. This 
motion, made by Mr. O'Neill, chairman of the Dublin County Council, and sec- 
onded by Mr. McDonald, chairman of the Cork County Council, was strongly 
supported, but it was defeated on a division, and the council eventually con- 
curred in the compromise which I had proposed. So far as the council is con- 
cerned, this brief resume represents the facts up to that time in relation to the 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 125 

subsidy or grant. The agricultural board in the following month (December, 
1907) formally approved of the policy proposed by me and concurred in by 
the council. 

ACTION OF THE AGRICULTURAL BOARD. 

I then hoped that the question which had caused so much difficulty, division, 
and trouble in the country, and at meetings of the council and of the agricul- 
tural board, was at an end. In this I was disappointed, for, within a few 
weeks after the meeting of the council at which this decision was taken, the 
annual meeting of the Irish Agricultural Organization Society was held, and, 
arising out of the proceedings of this meeting, and a public correspondence in 
the press initiated by Mr. John Redmond, M. P., leader of the Irish Parlia- 
mentary party, it became necessary in January, 1908, for the agricultural 
board, which has, as you are aware, control over the endowment fund of the 
department, to consider the whole question afresh. The board consists of 13 
members. There was practically a full attendance on the occasion. This at- 
tendance included at least three members of the executive committee of the 
Irish Agricultural Organization Society, and at the meeting in question a 
minute was unanimously adopted severing the relations between the two bodies, 
canceling the grant as from the 31st December following, and recommending 
that noncontroversial cooperative work should be undertaken in future by the 
department itself. Substantially the reason for adopting this resolution was 
that " the public mind, owing to various articles, letters, and speeches of those 
engaged in the promotion of the movement, had become impressed with the idea 
that the Irish Agricultural Organization Society was associated with hostility 
to a political party, the Irish Nationalist party." A still more important reason 
was that " certain trading interests in this country naturally objected to state 
aid being accorded to the formation of societies that were intended to enter into 
competition with them in the exercise of their legitimate trading operations." 
Indeed, influential deputations had waited upon me to enforce this view. In 
my judgment — and the board clearly concurred — this widespread feeling was 
detrimental to the work of the department. 

FINAL WITHDRAWAL OF THE SUBSIDY. 

The grant was accordingly canceled and withdrawn at the close of the year 
1908, in consonance with the minute of the agricultural board, and this action, 
and the reasons which led to it, were fully explained to the council of agri- 
culture at its meeting in May, 1908. Now, gentlemen, this policy was of course 
the policy of the vice president, and I do not in the least seek to shirk my 
responsibility for it. But it requires to be said here, and said with emphasis, 
that it was a policy approved and almost directed by the agricultural board. 
And who, let me ask, constituted the agricultural board at that time? The 
members present at the meeting and approving of the policy embodied in the 
minute were: Very Rev. Canon Daly, D. D. (whom I gladly welcome back from 
the United States to-day); Sir Nugent Everard, H. M. L. ; Sir Josslyn Gore- 
Booth, D. L. ; His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Healy, Archbishop of Tuam ; Mr. 
William McDonald, J. P., chairman of the Cork County Council ; Lord Mont- 
eagle, K. P., D. L. : Mr. H. de F. Montgomery, D. L. ; Mr. P. J. O'Neill, chairman 
of the Dublin County Council, and the late Mr. A. Robb, J. P., County Down. 
The Most Rev. Dr. Kelly, the Bishop of Ross, who was unable to be present, 
concurred by letter. Now, you could not get a better cabinet in all Ireland or 
one more representative of the best thought in the country. What a farce, 
then, it is for the anti-Government press, for Sir Horace Plunkett, and for 
the organ of the Irish Agricultural Organization Society to write as if this 
was the policy of one man and representative only of his prejudices. There 
never was a clearer pronouncement upon a question of fact by a body of men 
more capable and more disinterested. That is my answer to the libels that 
have been uttered against me. There were members of the Irish Agricultural 
Organization Society at that board meeting and voting, and we shall presently 
hear what they have got to say. That charge was persisted in, and I need only 
mention that three members of the House of Commons went on the platform 
in North Tyrone and introduced this nonpolitical question into the arena of 
conflict. The charge was made before the people of North Tyrone that I wan- 
tonly withdrew this grant to injure agriculture. Sir Edward Carson was one 
of these members, Mr. Hugh Barrie was the second, and Mr. Andrew Horner 
was the third. It is for you and the public to judge the grounds on which the 
grant was withdrawn and whether I was solely responsible for it. 



126 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

APPLICATION OF THE IRISH AGRICUTURAL ORGANIZATION SOCIETY FOR A GRANT FROM 

THE DEVELOPMENT FUND. 

For three years, and as a result of this action, this question ceased to be a 
disturbing factor in our deliberations at this council and at the agricultural 
board. It now arises in a fresh form. The act under which the development 
commission sits defines the organization of cooperat&m to be one of the purposes 
for which public funds may be allocated by them. As a matter of fact, provi- 
sional grants have, I understand, been made for this purpose in England and in 
Scotland. The treasury forwarded to the department, as they were bound by 
the statute to do, an application inadte by the Irish Agricultural Organization 
Society to the development commissioners for a grant of over £6,600 from the 
development fund to aid their work in this direction. I presume, although this 
is not stated, that the grant is meant to be annual. 

DEPARTMENT'S REPORT UPON APPLICATION OF IRISH AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION 

SOCIETY FOR STATE FUNDS. 

It became my duty to examine that application and to report upon it. A 
charge against me of delay in reporting to the development commissioners has 
been freely made. There was no delay on my part. A document of this kind, 
before it can be finally dealt with, has to pass through many hands, and my 
answer to the personal charge made against me is that I dealt with it without 
delay when it came before me. It reached me on the 1st of February and I 
dealt with it on the 2d. The report of the department on the application is in 
your hands, and I submit that, looking at the history of this body and at the 
resolutions adopted by this council and by the agricultural board, concurring 
on specific grounds in the withdrawal of the department's grant, I could adopt 
no other course than that of reporting against the explication for further aid 
from state funds. If I had done anything else I should have been setting 
aside decisions publicly arrived at on the gravest grounds by the council and 
the agricultural board; and for me, whatever irresponsible individuals may 
think, that was an impossibility. 

PROPOSALS OF DEVLOPMENT COMMISSIONERS FOR RECONSTITUTION OF THE IRISH 
AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION SOCIETY. 

Following upon the consideration of the department's report on the applica- 
tion of the organization society came the proposals of the development com- 
missioners outlining what they evidently considered to be a different policy. 
They did not propose to make a grant to the Irish Agricultural Organization 
Society as such. They had made no grant to the oragnization in England called 
the Agricultural Organization Society, but, after consultation and conference, 
had formed a new body to deal with the question of agricultural cooperation 
in that country. The new body was composed of representatives from the 
Agricultural Organization Society, from the Cooperative Union of Great Brit- 
ain, from the county councils, from the railway companies, and from the board 
of agriculture. As I understand the position, the grant is made in England 
to this new body through the board of agriculture, which thus assumes the 
real responsibility for the working of the organization. By the correspondence 
which is in your possession you will observe that the development commissioners 
asked the department to assist them in reorganizing the Irish Agricultural Or- 
ganization Society in a similar manner. That was a nice job for me ! Called 
upon to face this extraordinary duty, I decided that it was not work which the 
department ought to be required to perform. 

DIFFERENT CONDITIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IN IRELAND. 

Similar materials for such reorganization do not exist in this country as in 
Great Britain, and the relations between the department and the Irish Agri- 
cultural Organization Society were not such as to give promise of any satis- 
factory ending to such an enterprise. And I do not seek t© conceal my opinion 
that any such reorganization would not effectively alter the Irish Agricultural 
Organization Society, if that was the object the commissioners had in view. 
Its officials and its constitution would be dominant in the new organization, and 
the objections urged in 1907 and 1908, upon which the council and the board 
acted, would be practically the same. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 127 

Not believing a reconstitution of the kind to be a workable proposal, and not 
desiring to interfere with the Irish Agricultural Organization Society, its con- 
stitution or its work in any way whatever, I directed the attention of the de- 
velopment commissioners to the minute of the agricultural board to which I 
have already referred, and I expressed the willingness of the department to 
carry out that resolution (to create what would practically be a branch of the 
department to promote noncontroversial agricultural cooperation) and to sub- 
mit a scheme for so doing. 

depaetment's decision to consult the council of agriculture and agricul- 
tural BOARD. 

Owing to the extreme importance of the whole matter and to the resolutions 
of the council and the agricultural board, I considered it my duty to let the 
development commissioners know that it was my intention to consult these 
bodies on the subject. To avoid delay I expressed my willingness, if thought 
necessary, to call a special meeting of the council ; but from Mr. Dale's letter 
of 4th of July you will observe that the development commissioners did not 
deem such a step to be necessary. Amid all these difficulties and with strong 
pressure upon me to sanction the grant on my own responsibility, I felt it ad- 
visable for the first time in my vice presidency to call to my aid the advice of 
the president of the department, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, with whom 
the development commissioners had had some semiofficial discussion. Mr. Birrell 
fully approved of my refusal to settle this matter without the council and the 
agricultural board having had an opportunity of considering it afresh, and he 
authorizes me to say so to-day. I have been roundly abused in a section of the 
press because I declined to consider the question solely from the standpoint of 
my authority as vice president. I have been told that the delay which has been 
caused was due to a desire on my part to starve out the Irish Agricultural Or- 
ganization Society. Gentlemen, I have nothing to conceal ; nothing to apologize 
for. The department is a democratic body. It has a statutory constitution. I 
have endeavored to walk by the light of that constitution, and I have the 
thorough support of the chief secretary for my action or, as some people prefer 
to call it, my inaction, pending the deliberation of the council at this meeting. 

It is interesting to find that the organ of the cooperative movement, the Irish 
Homestead, which a few weeks ago accused me of holding over the Irish Agri- 
cultural Organization Society application in order to kill the movement — a 
charge repeated in the public press by Sir Horace Plunkett himself — in its 
second last issue changed its ground, and stated that the development commis- 
sioners seem to have field the opinion that the matter was too important to be 
decided by the prejudices of one man, and that, therefore, it was being referred 
to this council. These statements are, of course, absolutely self-contradictory, 
and are both equally false. Comment upon such an entire travesty of the facts 
is needless, but I think these self-help suppliants for state aid might make up 
their minds before coming to the front as to their line of argument. 

PROPOSAL THAT DEPARTMENT SHOULD CARRY OUT NONCONTROVERSIAL COOPERATION. 

So much for the history which brings us down to this day. Now, let me get 
at, and as briefly as possible, the merits of the several policies which the coun- 
cil has to consider. I may say at once that my policy in this matter is to carry 
out the recommendation in the minute passed by the agricultural board in 1908. 
The board decided then that cooperative work of a noncontroversial character 
should be undertaken and pressed forward by the department itself. If I am 
asked why this has not already been done, my answer — a rather imperfect one 
I admit — is, that at the earnest request of Lord Monteagle and Sir Nugent 
Everard, two members of the Irish Agricultural Organization Society executive, 
who sat then and who sit now as members nominated by the department, on the 
agricultural board, I promised to hold my hand in this work until it was seen 
whether the Irish Agricultural Organization Society, in its independent capac- 
ity, could adequately perform it. I may have been wrong in giving way to 
these gentlemen. Perhaps I ought to have acted on the board's minute then 
and there. It is the old story — " knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers." I 
shall not repeat the error, and have now officially informed the development 
commissioners that my solution of the difficulty is for the department itself to 
do the noncontroversial portion of this work, the commissioners providing the 
funds. Ireland will, therefore, not lose the money. The work in this event 



128 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

will be adequately performed. It will be performed by a body responsible to 
Parliament and to public opinion. The department can be effectively pulled 
up at any time should it fail to do the work in an approved manner, and I am 
now in Parliament to answer for myself. I stand, therefore, to-day by the 
minute of the agricultural board, passed in 1908, and I submit respectfully to 
this council that this is the way not only to have the work adequately done, but 
to secure peace im the country, in the council, and in our proceedings generally. 
I believe that the development commissioners would probably accept this solu- 
tion of the difficulty. This country differs fundamentally from Great Britain. 
Across the water there is no department such as exists here. We are fully 
fitted and equipped for this and any other necessary agricultural work. 

What is the alternative proposal? I say again that I have no confidence in 
the proposed substitution of a reconstructed body for the existing Irish Agri- 
cultural Organization Society. A reconstituted Irish Agricultural Organization 
Society would be largely the Irish Agricultural Organization Society over again. 
Let me state categorically my objections to the proposal to grant public State 
money to this or to any irresponsible body. 

STATE FUNDS SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN TO ANY IRRESPONSIBLE BODY. 

1. I have not changed my views, expressed in 1907 and 1908, as regards the 
unsoundness of granting State money to any organization that has no real 
responsibility to the State for spending it. During part of the time when the 
subsidy was -given by the department to the Irish Agricultural Organization 
Society it became necessary to place representatives of the department upon the 
executive committee of the society to superintend and control its expenditure. 
This dual control satisfied nobody. The Irish Agricultural Organization Society 
resented it, and their last letter to me on the subject, asking for an additional 
1,000 pounds, contained a request that the control should be confined to the 
department's grant and not to the whole expenditure of the society — a mani- 
festly impossible arrangement. I stated then, in 1908, what I urge on the coun- 
cil to-day, that if this plan was unsatisfactory to the Irish Agricultural Organi- 
zation Society, it was equally unsatisfactory to the department. Such an ex- 
periment ought not to be repeated. Nothing but mischief can come from its 
repetition. Indeed, in their application to the development commissioners the 
Irish Agricultural Organization Society very plainly reveal their continued ob- 
jection to any effective control over their expenditure. Here is a quotation from 
their application: "The committee submit that the conditions under which any 
grant may be given in aid of the society's work should be such as will leave it 
perfectly free as to the selection of the methods and persons employed. They 
are prepared to accept full responsibility for the work they undertake to do." 
The Irish Homestead a week or two ago returned to this crux and declared 
plainly that while the Irish Agricultural Organization Society will submit to its 
accounts being audited, on certain conditions, Irish cooperators are not going 
to subscribe money in future to be spent unless they have the control of the 
spending of their own money, which they will do far more economically than 
any other body." Gentlemen, could audacity go further? This attempt to 
make a distinction between the control to be exercised over the funds obtained 
from the State and from private sources is an impossible one; and the depart- 
ment's past experience in endeavoring to exercise some adequate supervision 
over the expenditure of the Irish Agricultural Organization Society is a clear 
warning against any repetition of the experiment. 

OBJECTION TO REVERSING DECLARED POLICY OF COUNCIL AND AGRICULTURAL BOARD. 

2. The grant was withdrawn, with the concurrence of the council and the 
agricultural board, on the express ground that a large part of the trading com- 
munity considered themselves aggrieved by the subsidy, and, in addition, that a 
large section of the public had come to consider the Irish Agricultural Organiza- 
tion Society as a body hostile to a particular political party in this country. 
At the time I satisfied myself, and I say this now on my own responsibility, 
that this feeling was well founded. The council and the board must have been 
of this opinion or they would not have acquiesced in the withdrawal of the 
grant, because these were the avowed and published grounds upon whi*h it was 
withdrawn. I have not seen any reason to change my views. I have had no 
cause in the interval to believe that there has been any change in the attitude 
of the agricultural board or of the council — no suggestion has ever been made to 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 129 

repeal the minute under which the department acted. And I say now that it 
would be utterly impossible to make a grant from the funds of the department 
or a State grant, for which the department would be in the main responsible, 
without a complete reversal of the policy recommended by the agricultural 
board and carried into effect by me. Such a change of policy would cause a 
renewed cleavage of opinion in this council and would do infinite injury to the 
work of the department throughout the country. This council practically goes 
out of office to-day. This is Its final meeting, and any change of policy in a 
matter of this kind would be liable to be reopened with a new council in office 
next May. Can anyone say that such a possibility augurs well for the depart- 
ment's work or for peace? What is required more than anything else for the 
success of the department is that we should have the confidence of the people 
and their loyal cooperation in our work. In my judgment we have both of these 
necessities in a larger degree than ever before in the history of the department. 

ATTITUDE OF THE IRISH AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION SOCIETY. 

3. The history of the relations between the department and the Irish Agri- 
cultural Organization Society makes anything like the effective cooperation re- 
quired by the policy of the development commissioners almost impossible. The 
Irish Agricultural Organization Society repudiate the charge of political par- 
tisanship urged against them by the predominant political party in this country. 
Instead of appealing for a verdict of " not guilty " to their several branches in 
the country I should have thought that an expression of opinion on the part of 
those who originally made the charge against them would have been more 
to the point. Why have they not secured Mr. Redmond's acceptance of their 
theory of the Rolleston correspondence? Why have they not appealed to "Dil- 
lon and the parliamentarians," whom it was proposed to displace by new Irish 
Agricultural Organization Society representatives in Parliament? These were 
the people who felt aggrieved. The Irish Agricultural Organization Society got 
no verdict from them. 

They further claim that although they organize societies which in many 
ways compete with local traders, yet they themselves are not a trading body, 
and that therefore State funds should be handed over to them for the creation 
of further trading bodies ! A nontrading body which boasts of affiliated so- 
cieties, with an annual turnover of two and a half millions sterling and a mem- 
bership of almost 100,000! Was there ever such a contradiction in terms? 
What is the meaning of an affiliated society if it does not mean that it is part 
of the parent organization? I did not report against the giving of a grant 
merely on this ground, but my opinion is that the application is ultra vires, 
and that the Irish Agricultural Organization Society is in effect a gigantic 
trading body. I do not care to renew this old controversy. I am in no way 
responsible for it. I found the quarrel in full swing when I came to the de- 
partment. But this much may now be said : For the last 18 months at least the 
Irish Agricultural Organization Society has been too busy attacking the de- 
partment, its vice president, and its work to bother themselves about any- 
body or anything else. In fact, so far as my observation goes, this has recently 
been their chief work in the country. They will probably say that it is the 
vice president and not the department they attack. Well, for the present the 
two hang together. The Irish Agricultural Organization Society war cry that 
" Russell must go " is not yet an accomplished fact. 

THE IRISH AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION SOCIETY AND THE DAIRYING-INDUSTRY BILL'. 

When the report of the departmental committee on tbe dairying industry was 
published, they set on foot a propaganda founded upon a complete misconcep- 
tion of what the report contained. Their agents were sent into every part of 
the country to maintain an intolerable thesis, viz, that the department desired 
to take complete control of the butter industry, including its business opera- 
tions. For weeks and for months this assertion was spread broadcast through- 
out Ireland. u Government by experts," i. e., the experts of the department — 
the expert in this matter being our friend Mr. Campbell ! — were sneered at 
and ridiculed as the last possible stage in the decadence of a country. At the 
time, and whilst all this was going on, the department had not even considered 
the report of the committee and had no responsibility for it, i. e., for its terms 
or its recommendations. When the first copy of the draft bill, which was 

34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 9 



130 COOPERATION" AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

founded upon the report, appeared, it became impossible for the Irish Agricul- 
tural Organization Society, its organ, or its agents to pursue this phantom 
any further. They dropped it, they mended their hand, and without a word 
of apology for the misrepresentations which they had implanted in people's 
minds in every corner of the country, they initiated a wild attack on the bill 
on other grounds, in the same way and with the same machinery. 

If the department had given way entirely to the Irish Agricultural Organi- 
zation Society representations, the bill need never have been printed. In my 
judgment we probably gave far too much away, in our desire to have a non- 
contentious measure, but a time came when the foot had to be set down, and 
that time arrived when a deputation from the Irish Agricultural Organization 
Society told us, in effect, that they would not allow anything in the bill that 
left the slightest modicum of discretion to the department in its framing of 
regulations, or to its officials in the administration of the bill when it became 
a statute of the realm. In fact, they practically told us that they would not 
trust the department to do right or to act fairly. And when they declined to 
say whether they were for or against the bill in regard to the crucial point of 
reworking butter, the time had clearly arrived when it was impossible to parley 
further with such a body. In the line they adopted they were not only against 
the department; they were against the Creamery Managers' Association, the 
Irish Butter Trade Association, and every other branch of the industry. This, 
be it remembered, was the attitude adopted by the organization society in 
regard to a bill which was specially designed to protect Irish creamery butter 
in the English markets and to prevent fraud in its sale. But the bill also 
proposed to stop fraud in the creamery at home. The whole thing was de- 
lightfully capped the other day by a printed query put to me in North Tyrqne 
by a creamery representative. Fancy the scene, in Newtownstewart ; the 
creamery man in the crowd, with Mr. Anderson's question in his hand, printed 
and ready, viz, whether I was prepared to support legislation for the purposes 
of securing that the Irish Agricultural Organization Society should be con- 
sulted in regard to all legislative proposals affecting agriculture, and whether 
I was prepared to consult them in the administration of the acts when they 
were placed on the statute book. I gave the answer such a question deserved ! 
No mud has been dirty enough to throw at the department, no attack wanton 
enough against myself. Gentlemen, when I had the pleasure of announcing 
an increase of 77,000 acres in the tillage of the country in 1909, that was 
referred to as a remarkable fact, even by the papers which had shown the 
most implacable hatred toward me, such as the Irish Times. I see Father 
Fin lay laughs. The Irish Times has been writing me down for 40 years. I 
am here yet ! What does Father Finlay, who is a vice president of the Irish 
Agricultural Organization Society, think of the organ of that society which 
insinuated that probably the vice president of the department had the returns 
collected in some unusual way, and that the increase had been produced by 
manipulation of the figures? Gentlemen, if the council think it possible for the 
department to control an organization of this kind, or to work satisfactorily with 
it, I must candidly confess from my experience that I do not agree with them ; 
and I do say that it would be nothing short of a wanton act to resurrect this 
source of friction which disturbed and impeded our work in the past, and to 
compel us to waste time in the future when it is possible to avoid the whole 
difficulty. 

NATURE OF NONCONTROVERSIAL COOPERATION. 

4. I ask why has it been necessary to have this matter discussed here to-day? 
The department, as I have said, are willing to undertake the noncontroversial 
branches of cooperative work. I hope the council are not going to imitate some 
people and say that the department are incapable of performing this duty. If 
I am asked to define what I mean by " noncontroversial cooperation," I reply 
that it means every form of cooperation which does not bring us into direct 
competition and conflict with the ordinary traders of the country. This proposal 
before you to-day means a cruel war upon the traders and shopkeepers of the 
country. I can not, and the department can not, safely take part in such a war. 
It would disturb our work in every part of Ireland and make it 10 times more 
difficult than it is. I don't want to come into collision with traders where I 
could not but have the worst of the argument. Under the term " noncontrover- 
sial cooperation " would come the organization of farmers engaged in our fruit- 
growing and potato-growing schemes, the dead meat and flax industries, and 



COOPERATION" AND THE COST OF LIVING. 131 

all similar branches of agricultural industry arising out of or connected with 
the department's work, in which at present the farmers are handicapped by lack 
of combined action in production and the marketing of their produce. Indeed, 
the department have been for some time past successfully organizing cooperation 
of this character. If any of you care to look at the October 'issue of the Journal 
of the department you will find a report from Sir Josslyn Gore-Booth's agent. 
He states there that for the first time the early potato crop has been organized 
and marketed in an eflicient manner. These early crops have been marketed in 
England and Scotland, under the direction of the department, in a way that 
has never been done before. 

AGEICULTUKAL CEEDIT. 

Noncontroversial cooperation would also include the question of agricultural 
credit, especially that form of it which is urgently required to assist the oc- 
cupiers with the necessary capital for stocking and working the holdings newly 
created or purchased under the recent land acts. This question, and the whole 
subject of cooperative credit in Ireland, is of such importance and diflaculty that 
the department have for some time felt convinced that before any steps for re- 
organizing or extending the system are taken the whole subject should be 
investigated and reported upon by an expert departmental committee. The 
department last year proposed the appointment of a departmental committee 
for this purpose, but has not yet obtained the necessary treasury sanction. 1 

THE CEEAMEEY SYSTEM. 

As to the question of cooperative creameries, the department, as intimated in 
the report to the development commissioners, are strongly of opinion that under 
the existing conditions of the Irish butter industry and of the milk supply of the 
country, and until much-needed legislation is passed, any extension of the 
creamery system would be detrimental rather than otherwise to the true inter- 
ests of the dairying industry as a whole. 

But, apart from this, I again ask why should this trouble be raised afresh? 
The development commissioners are a body quite independent of the department 
They are responsible to nobody save the House of Commons. If the commis- 
sioners choose to recommend to the treasury a grant for this purpose to the 
Irish Agricultural Organization Society, constituted as it is, or reconstituted as 
they desire it to be, to county councils or to anybody else, they have a right 
to do so. The department's assent is not necessary. If the commissioners feel 
that it is incumbent upon them to take this course, after all that has taken 
place, I repeat that no one save Parliament can object ; but to endow the Irish 
Agricultural Organization Society with state aid would, under present circum- 
stances, be in effect to set up a rival, and, as the past four years have shown, a 
hostile state-endowed authority in Ireland. 

THE IEISH AGEICULTUBAL OEGANIZATION SOCIETY AND COMPETITION WITH TEADEES. 

5. Finally, I wish to point out the fact — it is referred to in the department's 
report upon the application of the Irish Agricultural Organization Society — 
that when the development act was passing through Parliament the Govern- 
ment, through the solicitor general (Sir Samuel Evans), gave an express 
undertaking on the floor of the House that the funds of the commissioners 
would not be used for the purpose of starting cooperative societies for trading 
purposes. Sir Samuel Evans said in the House of Commons, in reply to Mr. 
McArthur, one of the members for Liverpool : 

"All that means is this : That farmers who do not readily combine or coop- 
erate, and who suffer a great deal by their being lax in matters of that kind, 
may be called together by certain bodies, may bave assistance for that pur- 
pose, and may have pointed out to them the great benefits of cooperation, not 
in order to form a cooperative society for buying and selling, but to dispose 
of the things they produce themselves; in order to have good transit in send- 
ing these things to market, cheaper transit, and the many matters well known 
to honorable members. It is in order to promote the organization of coopera- 
tion that we put in these words : 

" Mr. McAethub. Would they cover the giving of a grant or loan to form 
cooperative societies? 

1 This necessary sanction has since been obtained, and a committee has been appointed. 



132 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

" Sir Samuel Evans. No." 

Could any statement be clearer? The Irish Agricultural Organization Soci- 
ety has already maintained that they could not prevent cooperative agricul- 
tural societies from becoming dealers in general merchandise. Before the 
House of Lords committee last session, on Lord Shaftesbury's thrift and credit 
societies bill, Sir Horace Plunkett said -that whatever might be the desire of 
the Irish Agricultural Organization Society it would in law, he believed, be 
quite impossible to prevent developments of this kind on the part of such 
affiliated societies or otherwise. And, gentlemen, we know that this is being 
done on a pretty considerable scale even now, and warmly approved by the 
Irish Agricultural Organization Society. It is not, of course, my business to 
interfere with the discretion of the development commissioners; but I desire, 
with my knowledge of the facts in Ireland and of the pledge given by the 
Government in Parliament, to call attention to this point, it having, in my 
opinion, a very direct bearing upon the application of the society for aid in its 
work. The development commissioners may very easily, and with the best 
intentions, land us in very serious difficulties with the traders of the country. 
I desire to keep the department clear of this trouble. 

THE DEPARTMENT AND THE DEVELOPMENT FUND. 

In conclusion, I wish to make it clear that the policy which I have indicated 
does not bar the making of a grant of money to Ireland for the purpose of 
promoting certain methods of cooperation. My policy would secure the money 
for the department and would secure the performance of the work by a body 
responsible to Parliament and to public opinion. Already the department have 
succeeded in securing over £100,000 for work of a special character in Ireland 
from the development commission. It is very puerile and entirely misleading 
for the anti-Government press in this country to write that in this direction 
we have secured nothing Taking population into account, we have done bet- 
ter than any other part of the United Kingdom. But the needs of the coun- 
try are such that much larger grants could, of course, have been most advan- 
tageously expended — and we are trying to get them. We were, I think, first 
in the field with our applications. And it is only the other day that we received 
the sanction for a grant for agricultural research in addition to what we had 
already received for other purposes. All this talk of having secured nothing 
is absolutely futile and ignorant, and does not influence the department one 
iota. My claim to-day is for peace and freedom to do our work, and that we 
shall not be brought into collision with other bodies of individuals that have 
their own ends — perfectly proper ends — in view and their own methods for 
attaining those ends. 

REPRESENTATIVE CHARACTER OF COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURE. 

I should look upon it as nothing short of a calamity were these old quarrels, 
these old debates, to be renewed. I do not desire a minority and a majority 
on this council in regard to the work of the department. Members do not sit 
here as representatives of the Irish Agricultural Organization Society or any 
other outside body. They sit as representatives of the agricultural interests 
of the country as a whole. And to-day I have taken what I have called the 
extraordinary course of submitting this whole question and the correspondence 
which it involved for your consideration. I might have done otherwise. I 
might, on my own authority, have informed the development commissioners 
that I did not see my way to carry out these recommendations. I might have 
said that I would not allow the question again to be raised, to deflect us from 
the work upon which we are engaged and to bring division and strife into our 
ranks. And I would have been responsible to nobody but to Parliament. I 
chose, as I have already said, to follow the spirit of the constitution rather 
than its letter, and I decided, therefore, to place the matter before the council 
in the fullest manner. Your action, whatever it may be to-day, will be con- 
sidered to-morrow by the agricultural board. The final responsibility will then, 
of course, be cast upon myself, and it is a very great and heavy responsibility. 

QUESTION TO BE VIEWED IN REGARD TO EFFECT UPON DEPARTMENT'S WORK. 

My concluding words must be of a personal character. I have been responsible 
for the work of the department now for four years. I inherited many diffi- 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 133 

culties, some well known, others not so well known. When I took office I speedily 
found that the publication of Sir Horace Plunkett's book on Ireland in the New 
Century had alienated many true friends of the department. I found that a 
large section of the traders in the country felt themselves aggrieved by a state 
grant to the Irish Agricultural Organization Society. I found also the Irish 
Nationalist Party seized with the idea that the department was hostile to, and 
that it was being worked against, the Nationalist cause. Gentlemen, all these 
formidable difficulties, the creation of my predecessor, have been mastered, set- 
tled, and overcome. A parliamentary accident to myself in 1910 has been re- 
paired in 1911, and the department with, as I believe, the confidence and the good 
will of the great majority of the nation, are going on with their work full steam 
ahead. Old work is being successfully carried on, and new work on a large and 
ever increasing scale is being undertaken. The department's operations are 
being watched and studied all over Europe and America. I am accused of 
working against the Irish farmers. I probably have done more for the Irish 
farmer than the whole of the Irish Agricultural Organization Society put 
together. Let me earnestly appeal to my colleagues here to-day to do nothing 
to mar or hinder a work so invaluable and so vital to our economic progress. 
Whatever may be the opinion expressed here to-day, it will receive from me the 
most anxious and unbiased consideration. But in the ultimate result, as I 
hav said, I can not escape the responsibilty which the act of Parliament places 
upon me, and you may rest assured that the only consideration which will 
weigh with me will be the welfare of the department. This will be the final 
test to which I shall bring this whole unfortunate controversy. 



DUNDEE, SCOTLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

THE EARLY SOCIETIES. 

The cooperative movement in Scotland as a means of improving the condition 
of the working classes dates back to the beginning of the nineteenth century. 
In the beginning these cooperative societies were generally formed by a few 
workingmen of a particular trade joining together for the purpose of procuring 
the necessaries of life under conditions which they would have some share in 
controlling. The goods thus obtained were retailed to the members at cost 
price plus expenses. The weavers, known for their thrift and intelligence, 
played an important part in this early cooperative movement, and many socie- 
ties of the present day owe their origin to this class of workers. 

THEIR OBJECTS. 

The purpose of these early societies was not only to purchase as economically 
as possible, but to maintain as high a moral standard among its members as 
possible. Penalties were often inflicted for drunkenness and for the use of 
profane language, and provision was made for assisting members in distress. 
All business transacted, both in buying and selling, was done on a cash basis. 

MANY ORIGINALLY BAKING SOCIETIES. 

A large number of these early societies started as baking societies as a means 
of providing their members with bread at a reasonable price, most of them 
afterwards becoming amalgamated with some local cooperative society already 
established or else forming themselves into a regular cooperative society. The 
great obstacle encountered by all of them was the difficulty of raising capital 
with which to commence business. Fortunately, however, the leaders were gen- 
erally honest and capable workingmen, whose skill and determination soon 
proved what great benefits were to be derived from the concentration of pur- 
chasing power. 

SPREAD OF THE MOVEMENT. 

So successful indeed were these early societies that the cooperative move- 
ment soon spread to all parts of Scotland. As long as the principle was fol- 
lowed of selling goods for cash only and at a price only sufficiently above cost 
to cover expenses, cooperation proved popular and prospered. 



134 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

CHANGE OF POLICY. 

About the middle of last century a desire sprang up among the various 
societies to raise the prices of goods to a point which would permit of the dis- 
tribution of a dividend to their shareholders. This change of policy proved to 
be a great blow to cooperation, for the small shareholders soon realized the 
great injustice done them ; for although they might have loyally confined their 
patronage to their society, they were not to derive as much benefit therefrom 
as the larger shareholder, who, perhaps, had done little or nothing toward mak- 
ing the profits through purchasing. Much dissatisfaction arose, and interest 
in cooperation began to fall away to such an extent that many societies were 
obliged to cease business through lack of support. 

INTRODUCTION OF THE ROCHDALE SYSTEM. 

• 

The Rochdale system had been introduced into England some years previous 
to this, and when its successful working became generally known throughout 
Scotland, the question of applying it to Scottish cooperation began to be dis- 
cussed. Under this system profits were to be distributed to members according 
to the amount of their purchases from the society instead of according to the 
number of shares held. In the late fifties many new societies began to be 
formed on the Rochdale system, and it was gradually adopted by those which 
still survived under the old system. This change gave cooperation in Scotland 
its greatest stimulus. So much so, that in a few years the retail societies had 
become so numerous and in general so prosperous that the question of further 
extending their power and influence by the establishment of a wholesale agency 
for the purchase of commodities needed was beginning to receive attention. 

THE WHOLESALE SOCIETY. 

The idea of the wholesale society, like that of the Rochdale system, came 
from England, where such an agency had been established in the year 1864. 
It was felt that a wholesale society would not only be able to buy at a much 
better advantage, but that it would be a valuable instrument for binding 
together the various retail societies scattered throughout the land and be a 
powerful factor in the further development of Scottish cooperation. 

However, it was not until the latter part of the year 1868 that sufficient sup- 
port could be secured from the retail societies to justify the establishment of 
the wholesale society. Glasgow was selected as the most suitable place for its 
headquarters, and it was to be known as the Scottish Cooperative "Wholesale 
Society (Ltd.). The start was exceedingly modest and "cautious, the capital at 
the end of the first quarter amounting to less than $9,000, and the net sales 
for the same period amounted to $49,191.32. Sales soon began to increase, how- 
ever, membership grew, and, what was of the greatest importance, the confi- 
dence of the retail societies was secured. By 1872 larger premises had to be 
secured, and in 1874 the society had moved into its own buildings. In the 
beginning only groceries and provisions were dealt in, but in 1873 it began 
to supply the retail societies with drapery goods. A branch was opened in 
Leith in 1877 to deal with goods from the Continent more expeditiously, and in 
1878 a second branch was opened in Kilmarnock for the collection of dairy 
produce. The third and last branch was opened in Dundee in 1881 as a grocery 
supply center for retail societies located in the northern part of Scotland. 

THE PROGRESS OF THE WHOLESALE SOCIETY. 

By 1881 the material progress of the wholesale society had been so remarkable 
that it decided to utilize its rapidly increasing capital in productive enterprises. 
In spite of the fact that the first productive enterprise attempted was that of 
shirtmaking, one of the lowest and most unremunerative that could have been 
selected, a complete success was made of the venture. This departure into a 
new field has proved to be as equally successful as that of the distributive de- 
partment. Industry after industry has been added until now the number of 
purely productive departments amounts to 40. Of these, 14 are located at 
Shieldhall, near Glasgow, and 12 in the city of Glasgow itself. The remaining 
are located in different towns throughout Scotland, and at Inniskillen, Ireland, 
with, in addition, the society's wheat elevators and office at Winnipeg, Canada. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 135 

These elevators have a capacity of 30,000 bushels. The grain is sent to Scotland 
for use in the three flour mills owned by the society, whose annual production 
is 600,000 sacks of flour. Among its productive works the society owns a fish- 
curing station at Aberdeen, from which point boats are engaged to fish for the 
society, and a very successful trade is done, over 2,000 tons of fish being dealt 
in annually. Supplies of fresh fish are dispatched daily to the retail societies, 
and large quantities are salted and cured in various ways. A complete plant for 
the rendering of cod-liver oil was recently installed, and in this a growing trade 
is being done. During the year 1909 the society manufactured goods to the 
value of over $11,500,000. 

The society has buyers located in New York and Montreal for the purchase of 
American produce; also buyers in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and Ireland. 
In this way they are able to get into direct touch with the producers and 
manufacturers. 

THE MEMBEESHIP OF THE WHOLESALE SOCIETY. 

This wholesale society represents the federated interests of 274 retail coop- 
erative societies of Scotland, by whom its capital is almost wholly subscribed, 
and, in addition, 72 other retail cooperative societies, who purchase from it 
but are not affiliated with it. 

The shares are of the value of 20 shillings each, and a retail society applying 
for membership must take out one share for each of its members. The interest 
paid on share capital is fixed at 5 per cent per annum. Shares may also be 
taken out by the employees of the wholesale society. It also accepts loans and 
deposits from its members or others at rates varying from %\ per cent on sums 
withdrawable at call to 4 per cent on sums withdrawable at 12 months' notice. 

DISPOSITION OF PEOFITS. 

The surplus profits remaining after paying these charges and the cost of dis- 
tribution is divided among the retail societies forming the membership in pro- 
porton to the amount of their purchases. A bonus is also distributed among 
its employees at the same rate per pound as the dividend paid on members' 
purchases. 

THE MANAGEMENT. 

The. society is managed through a committee elected by the members. The so- 
cieties share in the management in proportion to the amount of goods purchased. 
Each has one vote in right of membership, one for the first $7,500 worth of goods 
bought, and one other additional vote for every complete $15,000 of purchases 
thereafter. 

STATEMENT OF THE SOCIETY FOE 1909. 

The following is a statement of the society for the year 1909 : 

Number of shares subscribed by retail societies (274) 408,236 

Number of shares subscribed by employees 15, 159 

Share capital, including deposits, insurance, and reserve funds $16, 265, 789 

Net sales $34, 318, 419 

Net profit $1, 323, 330 

The annual dividend distributed since the year 1906 has been 8d. in the 
pound, or 3£ per cent on purchases. 

PEODUCTION OF WHOLESALE SOCIETY FOE THE EETAIL SOCIETIES. 

The productions of the wholesale society are primarily intended for distri- 
bution among the retail cooperative societies, but efforts are sometimes made 
to secure contracts to supply municipalities and other public bodies. 

PEODTJCTTVE DEPAETMENTS OF THE EETAIL SOCIETIES. 

The majority of the retail cooperative societies are associations established 
solely for retail distribution. A number of them have, however, productive 
departments, such as bakeries, boots and shoes, tailoring, dressmaking, etc. 
Over 75 per cent of the total value of these productions consist of bread alone. 



136 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

The working arrangements in these productive departments of the retail 
societies as regards wages and hours of labor are, as a rule, superior to the 
conditions operating in that particular trade, and while this secures efficiency, 
still the prices are generally higher; but this is considered a legitimate posi- 
tion, as there is a uniform method of charging in all the different orperations, 
which secures fairness to both the producer and the consumer. This does not 
always work out advantageously, as the consumer is in many cases working 
under the disadvantage of low wages and is apt to grumble at excess charges. 

Where the wholesale society acts as middleman only there is a tendency for 
goods to be slightly dearer, and this has raised a new question, as many retail 
societies are dealing direct with outside wholesale houses for reasons of econ- 
omy. This policy is deprecated and a feeling exists that only under very ex- 
ceptional circumstances should the retail societies buy from other than coop- 
erative sources. This has its counterpart in the attitude of the individual 
members to the retail societies. While loyalty is asked to the cooperative 
stores, this is considerably affected by the economic position of the workers. In 
the Dundee societies the average weekly purchases work out at about $3 per 
member. The contributory causes to this low average are largely due to the 
adherence of the management to the policy of handling the better class of goods 
only and of charging all the necessary costs against each article sold on a fair 
ratio, thus securing the society against any exceptional loss. This, of course, 
hinders the lower-paid class from purchasing extensively from cooperative 
stores, while it has a balancing effect on trade. If these societies were to carry 
on a price-cut policy it might have a detrimental effect on private trade and 
prove more hurtful, but this principle of maintaining the price has allowed of 
progress without upsetting the commercial system. While all the evidence 
shows that the cooperative stores do maintain prices, still it is questionable 
if it has not been the most important factor in keeeping them at a fair level. 
Some noncooperative stores can and do supply goods at lower rates than the 
cooperatives, but their price is based on the known price of the cooperative, 
which, together with a knowledge of the market as well as a knowledge of the 
principle governing cooperatives' prices, enable them to fix the price at a lower 
level. 

DOES NOT REDUCE PEICES. 

It can not be said that- the introduction of cooperation has tended to reduce 
prices, but, rather, it has been a scheme whereby the status of the worker is 
raised and the social and industrial condition of the workingman improved. 

CLASS OF MEMBERSHIP. 

The great bulk of the membership of the retail societies is composed of the 
well-to-do artisan class, men and women, who are in constant and fairly re- 
munerative employment. 

ADVANTAGES CLAIMED FOR COOPERATION. 

The advantages claimed for cooperation are that it enables workingmen to 
obtain pure food at a fair market price ; that it teaches them the advantages of 
cash payments over credit; that it secures them an annual net profit; that 
even though at times they may pay more for an article than they would 
at a private trader, the surplus cost, as well as the entire profit made are 
paid back to them, the society in reality acting as a sort of savings bank, 
this saving generally being sufficient to pay his rent with. In short, coopera- 
tion teaches thrift and encourages economy. The dividends are paid out either 
in cash or placed to the credit of the member's share capital account. These 
dividends have averaged about 13 per cent in the past, but of late there seems 
to be a feeling developing that prices should be lowered and dividends reduced 
in order that the poorer class of workmen may participate in the benefits of 
cooperation, a thing he can hardly be said to do at present. 

UNFRIENDLY FEELING OF THE PRIVATE TRADERS. 

In spite of the fact that no attempt is made to undersell the local tradesmen, 
the latter, especially the grocers and butchers, have always resented the intro- 
duction of cooperation and an intense feeling exists among them toward it 
They have from the beginning done everything in their power to oppose its 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 137 

progress, even going so far as to secure the aid of members of Parliament in 
their fight. The press has been made use of and employers of labor have been 
induced in times past to post notices in their factories warning their employees 
not to join cooperative societies on pain of dismissal. These efforts seem to 
have availed them little, for cooperation has prospered remarkably, and each 
year shows an ever-increasing trade. 

COOPEEATION IN THE DUNDEE DISTRICT. 

Every town and village in this district has its cooperative store, and in this 
city itself there are two such societies with a combined membership of about 
9,000 ; there is also a cooperative coal society, with a membership of over 2,000. 

DUNDEE DISTRICT COOPERATIVE COAL SUPPLY ASSOCIATION. 

This society was established in the year 1890, and is modeled on the Rochdale 
system, and is affiliated with all cooperative organizations that have for their 
object cooperative thought and practice. The society sells its coal to members 
at current rates, no attempt being made to undersell the private dealers. At 
the end of the year the profit is distributed to the members according to the 
amount of their purchases; in 1911 this dividend amounted to 9 per cent, a 
slight decrease from the previous year. The society has 2,590 members, and the 
trade done amounted to 8,765 tons of coal. The capital of this association is 
raised in £1 shares, and each member is required to hold one share, which may 
be paid in full at time of entry, or Is. per share on application, Is. per share 
within three months of admission, and the balance by accumulation of profits. 
Members can not hold more than 20 shares each. The turnover in 1911 was 
just short of $50,000. 

CITY OF DUNDEE COOPERATIVE SOCIETY. 

This society was formed in 1897. It has established six grocery stores in 
different parts of the city, and also has a drapery and boot and shoe warehouse, 
a hardware and furnishing department, and a well-equipped bakery. It has 
1,911 members, and the trade of all departments amounted to $274,950 in the 
year 1910. Since its beginning the society has made steady progress and each 
year has shown a substantial increase in trade over the previous one. In the 
beginning it experienced the usual difficulty of securing sufficient capital. Only 
groceries were dealt in at first, other supplies of its members being drawn from 
noncooperative sources. As long as the demand for a certain article was lim- 
ited it was customary for the society to make arrangements with the different 
private traders to supply these goods at current rates, and a rebate was to be 
paid back to the society. Though this has been done extensively, and wholly 
in connection with the supply of fresh meat, still it was never recognized as a 
true principle, but rather as a means to an end, and whenever the trade justified 
it, new distributive branches were added for the supply of necessaries to the 
members. The society is a member of the wholesale agency and loyally sup- 
ports it, as it is regarded as a protection against the present tendency toward 
trusts and other combinations which have as their aim the controlling of prices 
in the interest of their shareholders. The profits of the society are distributed 
according to the Rochdale system, the dividend amounting to 12£ per cent. 
One per cent of these profits is devoted to educational purposes. 

DUNDEE EASTERN COOPERATIVE SOCIETY (LTD.). 

This is the largest and most prosperous of the local societies. It is based on 
the Rochdale system, but is not affiliated with the Scottish wholesale society, 
preferring to make its purchases in the open market, which, by reason of its 
large business, it claims to be able to do as cheaply and economically as the 
wholesale society. Its distributive agencies consist of 18 groceries and 3 boot 
and shoe shops, and, in addition, a bakery and a slaughterhouse. The society 
deals in groceries and provisions of all kinds, boots and shoes, hardware, etc., 
and has arrangements with certain private traders for supplying its members 
with goods at current rates, but a rebate on such purchases amounting to 15 
per cent is collected from the merchant by the society and returned to the pur- 
chasing member. The net profits arising from the business, after paying the 



138 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

expenses of management and allowing for depreciation, etc., and putting aside 
one-half penny per pound on purchases to form a reserve fund, is divided 
among the members according to the amount of each individual's purchases. 
The reserve fund is held for the benefit of the society and may be applied to 
meet such losses as may from time to time arise through bad debts or acci- 
dental losses, and to such educational, provident, or other purpose, for the benefit 
of the society or members, as may be authorized. The business is all conducted 
on a cash basis, but in cases of emergency members may obtain credit to the 
extent of one-half of their paid-up capital, consisting of shares of £1 each. 
Every member whose first share has been fully paid up is entitled to one vote 
at all the meetings of the society. The society was established in the year 1873 
and up to 1900 its progress was steady and continuous. For the past 10 years 
its membership and trade have remained stationary. 

In 1911 the society had 6,833 members and did a business amounting to 
$1,321,556.47 on a paid-up capital of $324,215.50. The net profits were $214,- 
709.98, and a dividend of 37^d. in the pound was declared, equal to a little over 
15 per cent on purchases. The average amount purchased by each member was 
$193.39. 

ABERDEEN NORTHERN CO. 

This is by far the largest cooperative society in this consular district. It is 
located in the city of Aberdeen. It is registered under the limited-liability act 
instead of under the industrial and provident societies act, and hence is not 
eligible to become a member of the Scottish Wholesale Society, whose member- 
ship is restricted to cooperative societies registered under the last-named act. 
It was established in 1861 and has had a remarkable growth. The company is 
founded on the Rochdale model and started in to deal in groceries and provi- 
sions only. The business rapidly increased and additional departments were 
added from time to time as the trade demanded. Thus in time were added 
baking, drapery, tailoring, millinery, and dressmaking; also boot and shoe 
making. Soon fresh meat was included, then coal dealing, and finally a meal 
mill was added. The coal department is an important feature of this society. 
Aberdeen, because of its geographical position, has to ship the greater part of 
its coal from the north of England, and the company does*a large business in 
this article, and it has its own steam vessel to bring this coal from the English 
ports. In 1909 the number of shareholders was 19,749, holding 141,461 shares, 
of which 141,203 were fully paid up. The total sales amounted to $3,132,125 
and net profits $490,841, and a dividend of 3s. 3d. (78 cents) per pound of pur- 
chases was paid. 

There are many other cooperative societies scattered throughout this consular 
district, too numerous to describe in detail. They are all working under the 
Rochdale system and, for the most part, are conducted under rules prepared by 
the cooperative union. In some of these members who do not purchase goods 
up to a certain value receive no interest on share capital and are even sometimes 
compelled to withdraw from membership. 

Respectfully submitted. 

E. Haldeman Dennison, Consul. 

American Consulate, 

Dundee, Scotland, January 11, 1912. 



THE BRADFORD, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

The cooperative, societies in the Bradford consular district are comprised in 
the northwestern section of the cooperative union, which section is the largest 
both in number of societies and in the total membership of over 1,000,000. 
This section is divided into 17 districts, which cover, roughly speaking, North 
Wales, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, Westmoreland, the Isle of Man, and 
the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire. Owing to the proximity of the con- 
sular districts of Leeds and Huddersfield to that of Bradford, the cooperative 
districts do not unfortunately coincide. Most of the cooperative societies in 
the Bradford consular district are in the Airedale district, while others (such as 
Brighouse, Halifax, etc.) are located in the Calderdale district, and yet others 
(such as Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, etc.) in the Dewsbury district. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 139 

The Airedale district contains 46 societies, with a membership of 119,753 ; 
the Calderdale district has 31 societies, with a membership of 41,555; and the 
Dewsbury district 30 societies and a membership of 59,949. 

The cooperative societies in the North of England are so numerous and pros- 
perous as to take the place almost entirely of the departmental stores as exist- 
ing elsewhere. 

In 1850 a cooperative society was formed at Bingley, now a suburb of Brad- 
ford. The following year a society was established at Halifax, and a little 
later this was followed by the Batley Carr Society, now the Dewsbury Society). 
In 1855 another society was formed at Queensbury, near Bradford. This was 
followed by the Great Horton Society (though as early as 1842 an unsuccessful 
attempt had been made), and in 1860 two societies were started in Bradford, 
namely, the Bradford Provident Industrial Society and the Bradford Industrial 
Cooperative Society. For several years these last two societies ran practically 
side by side in Bradford, and it was not until 1869 that they became amalga- 
mated. Later the West Bowling Society, which had come into being in the city, 
was also amalgamated by the larger society, and thus was formed under its 
present title The City of Bradford Cooperative Society ( Ltd. ) . 

The cooperative societies in Bradford and the immediate vicinity are in detail 
as follows: 

The City of Bradford Cooperative Society (Ltd.) is now in its fifty-first year 
of existence, and the membership at the end of 1910 was 20,269. Its share 
capital at that time amounted to £414,839 ($2,018,814). The sales during the 
year amounted to £541,654 ($2,635,959), the net profit being £86,670 ($421,780). 
This society, in addition to its large central premises (resembling a department 
store) in the heart of the city, has 43 branch stores in various sections of the 
city ; it also owns and operates an abattoir, said to be one of the finest in the 
movement, an up-to-date bakery, a restaurant or caf§, a dairy, a laundry (the 
first cooperative laundry in England), a coal department, and also departments 
for bootmaking, dressmaking, tailoring, etc. 

The Allerton Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) (Allerton being situated 
at the outskirts of the city of Bradford) was established in January, 1868. 
The total sales of the society since its formation up to January, 1911, amount to 
£326,140 ($1,587,160), and the total profits distributed amount to £38,228 
($186,037). 

The Bingley Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) (Bingley being a suburb 
of Bradford) commenced its existence in a very humble way in 1850. It now 
has a membership of over 3,000, and its sales for 1910 amounted to £100,167 9s. 
lid. ($487,465). Its share capital is £82,888 lis. 4d. ($403,377). 

Birkenshaw Industrial Society (Ltd.) (Birkenshaw being 4 miles southeast 
of Bradford) was established in 1866. Its membership at the close of 1910 was 
2,859; its share capital amounted to £38,683 ($188,251) and its sales £82,702 10s. 
7?d. ($402,472) ; while the interest and dividends paid to members amounted to 
£8,724 19s. Id. ($42,460). 

Brighouse District Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) (6 or 7 miles from 
Bradford) was established in 1856. At the close of 1910 its membership num- 
bered 6,938, its sales amounted to £283,062 ($1,377,521), its capital was £148,418 
($722,276), and the profit made in the year was £50,013 ($243,388). 

Buttershaw Industrial Society (Ltd.) (a suburb of Bradford) was established in 
1872. Its membership in 1910 was 331, its share capital £5,643 ($27,462), its 
sales during the year £12,441 ($60,544), and the net profits £1,959 ($9,533). 

Clayton Cooperative Industrial Society (Ltd.) (a suburb of Bradford) was 
formed in May, 1859. Its membership is now 678 ; its sales last year amounted 
to £15,816 ($76,969), the profits being £2,407 ($11,714), and the share capital 
amounts to £7,682 ($37,384). 

Cleckheaton Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) (5 or 6 miles distant from 
Bradford) was established in 1861. Its membership in 1910 was 4,667, its 
share capital £75,307 ($366,482), its sales during that year £152,390 ($741,606), 
and the net profits £24,704 ($120,222). 

Eccleshill Cooperative Industrial Society (Ltd.) (formerly on the outskirts 
but now within the limits of the city of Bradford) was started over 50 years 
ago. Its membership in 1910 was 520, its share capital £5,122 ($24,926), its 
sales during that year £10,646 ($51,809), and the net profits amounted to £1,545 
($7,519). 

Great Horton Industrial Society (Ltd.), established in the city of Bradford 
in 1859; its membership at the close of 1910 was 5,222. Its share capital was 



140 COOPERATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 

at that date £91,316 ($444,389). its sales in 1910 amounted to £135,255 ($658,- 
218), and the profits were £18,572 ($90,381). Since 1863 there has been dis- 
tributed in dividends £410,736 ($1,998,847), in addition to interest on share 
capital. 

In 1842, or two years before the society at Rochdale, a cooperative society 
was in operation in Great Horton, but the cause of its demise is not now known ; 
but the fact is interesting, as Great Horton thus narrowly escaped the fame 
that now makes Rochdale the " Mecca " of cooperators. 

Greengates and Apperley Bridge Cooperative Society (Ltd.) (on the out- 
skirts of the city of Bradford) was started in 1871. The growth of the society 
is shown from the sales, which in the first year amounted to £12 ($58), while 
in the six months ended December 31, 1910, they amounted to £13,212 ($64,296). 

Queensbury Industrial Society (Ltd.) (also on the outskirts of Bradford) 
was established in 1855. The membership at the close of 1910 was 2,527, the 
share capital was £37,980 ($184,830), and the sales for 47 weeks of that year 
amounted to £63,308 ($308,088). 

Thornton Cooperative Society (Ltd.) (within the limits of the city of Brad- 
ford) was started in 1860. Its membership in 1910 was 550 and its capital 
stock £5,487 ($26,702). Its sales in 1910 amounted to £14,343 ($69,800), and 
the net profits were £2,426 ($11,806). 

Tong Park (just outside the Bradford city limits) is a small society of 76 
members. 

Wibsey Slack Side Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) (also in the city of 
Bradford) was established in 1877. At the end of 1910 the number of members 
was 424, the share capital was £8,759 ($42,626), the sales for that year 
amounted to £13,712 ($66,729), and the profits were £2,230 ($10,852). 

Wilsden (on the outskirts of Bradford) has a society with a membership 
of 340. 

Windhill Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) (situated in the town of Ship- 
ley, about 3 miles from Bradford) was formed in 1864. At the close of 1910 
the membership was 6,400, and the share capital amounted to £103,802 ($505,- 
152). The sales during the year totaled £182,863 ($889,903), the net profits 
being £29,640 ($144,243). 

There are also cooperative societies at the following towns or villages in this 
consular district, but not in the immediate vicinity of Bradford: Addingham, 
Cross Hills, Denholme, Drighlington, Gargrave, Gomersal, Guiseley, Halifax, 
Haworth, Heckmondwike, Ingleton, Ingrow, Keighley, Liversedge, Oxenhope, 
Settle, Silsden, Skipton, Stanbury, Steeton, Sutton Mill, etc. 

Of these societies the most important are : 

Halifax Industrial, with a membership of 10,736, a share capital of £118,836 
($578,315). Its sales during 1910 amounted to £346,398 ($1,685,746), and the 
net profit to £51,105 ($248,702). 

Keighley Industrial, with a membership of 10,538 and a share capital of 
£175,426 ($853,711). Its sales in 1910 were £269,964 ($1,313,780) and the net 
profit £55,883 ($271,955). 

Heckmondwike, its membership being 7,432; its share capital, £172,809 
($840,975) ; its sales in 1910, £197,550 ($961,377) ; and a net profit of £39,271 
($191,112). 

The productive cooperative societies in this consular district are as follows: 

Bradford Cooperative Cabinet Makers' Society (Ltd.) founded in 1890; has 
been steadily growing. Its membership is 77 and the share capital £2,733 
($13,300). It manufactures all kinds of furniture and office and store fittings. 

Airedale Cooperative Worsted Manufacturing Society (Ltd.) started in 1872 
by a number of workingmen; at first was not very profitable, but gradually its 
business has improved. Its productions consist of dress goods and linings. There 
is a membership of 448, consisting of 279 society members and 169 individual 
shareholders, including employees. All employees become members and receive, 
in addition to the standard rate of wages, a bonus on their earnings. All 
societies purchasing goods receive a bonus upon the amount of their purchases 
and all shareholders receive 5 per cent per annum interest upon their capital, 
plus a dividend. The society does business with nearly 300 distributive soci- 
eties in England and Wales varying from £20,000 ($97,330) to £25,000 
($121,663) per annum. 

Keighley Laundries is a cooperative enterprise doing laundry work in Keigh- 
ley and the surrounding country. Its business in 1910 amounted to £2,364 
($11,504). 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 141 

The Keighley Ironworks Society (Ltd.), makers of washing and wringing 
machines and iron and brass bedsteads, has now been taken over by the coop- 
erative wholesale society at Manchester. 

Halifax Flour Society (Ltd.) is the oldest cooperative flour mill in the 
United Kingdom. Its membership at the close of 1910 was 983 and its share 
capital £98,550 ($479,594). The sales in 1910 amounted to £421,869 ($2,053,- 
025), the net profits being £11,459 ($55,755). 

Sowerby Bridge Flour Society (Ltd.) had a membership in 1910 of 1,783 and 
the share capital was £92,271 ($449,036). The sales during that year totaled 
£334,622 ($1,628,438), and the net profits were £8,044 ($39,146). 

Hebden Bridge Fustian Manufacturing Cooperative Society (Ltd.), enrolled 
in 1870, now produces every variety of corduroys, moleskins, twills, and other 
fustian clothing, ready-made and to measure. Its membership in 1910 was 
850, its share capital £29,615 ($144,121), and its sales for that year £47,477 
( $231,047 L 

The accompanying copies of the rules of the Great Horton Industrial Society 
and of the City of Bradford Cooperative Society, and of the last half-yearly 
report of the latter society, give details of the methods of organization and 
operation. Briefly, it may be said that in order to become a member of any of 
the local societies it is necessary to take up at least 1 pound sterling share, 
which can be paid for by a deposit of Is. (24 cents) and 3d. (6 cents) per 
week thereafter until paid for, together with an entrance fee of Is. (24 cents). 
The number of shares that may be acquired by any one member is limited, 
some societies fixing the number at 100, while in the City of Bradford Coopera- 
tive Society it is a« high as 200. In this last society, however, owing to the 
influx of capital, the rate of interest is fixed at 4 per cent on the first 50 shares 
and 3 per cent on the balance. There is also a sliding scale of interest in this 
society based on purchases rnxde by the member ; for instance, half rate of 
interest is allowed if the purchases of a holder of 50 shares do not amount in 
the half year to £3 ($14.60) ; 100 shares, £5 ($24.33) ; 150 shares, £8 ($38.93) ; 
and 200 shares, £12 ($58.40). 

The great inducement to members of the cooperative societies is the dividend 
paid on all purchases (evidence of which is shown by the checks given at time 
of purchase), which is declared half-yearly and amounts on an average in this 
district to nearly 3s. (73 cents) in the pound sterling. Nonmembers making 
purchases usually obtain a smaller dividend ; in the City of Bradford Coopera- 
tive Society it amounts to half the amount received by members. 

The membership of the societies is drawn largely from the so-called working 
class, or lower middle class, as others have expressed it. 

The principles actuating the cooperative societies are such as to commend 
themselves to all thoughtful and disinterested persons. Originally organized 
by workers for their mutual benefit and protection, and often as a protest 
against labor conditions, it has been, to use an official phrase, the constant aim 
of cooperative societies " to conciliate the conflicting interests of the capitalist, 
the worker, and the purchaser through the equitable division among them of 
the fund commonly known as profit." 

While the conditions of labor in the cooperative movement are in many 
respects greatly improved, there is nevertheless at the present time an agita- 
tion being made by the Amalgamated Union of Cooperative Employees for a 
minimum wage for females, as follows: 5s. ($1.22) per week at 14 years of 
age, with annual increases of 2s. (49 cents) until 17s. ($4.13) per week is 
reached at 20 years of age. 

The ordinary wage paid to male cooperative store assistants over 21 years 
in Bradford is from 25s. ($6.08) to 30s. ($7.30). The hours for the City of 
Bradford Cooperative Society are as follows : Commence work each day at 
8 a. m., and close Mondays at 7.30 p. m. ; Tuesdays, 12 noon ; Wednesdays, 
7.30 p. m. ; Thursdays, 8 p. m. ; Fridays, 9.30 p. m. ; Saturdays, 7 p. m. The 
accompanying copy of a booklet issued by the City of Bradford Society also 
gives details as to conditions of service of employees, etc. 

The attitude of retailers in this district toward the cooperative societies is 
said to be extremely hostile. From the general trend of the statements made 
at the various trade-organization meetings it is assumed that were it not for 
the cooperative societies prices generally would be slightly higher. 

In the Grocers' Gazette for November 25, 1911, an editorial article appeared 
under the heading of " Individual traders and cooperation," from which the 
following extracts are taken: 



142 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



" Perhaps the most far-reaching evil of the cooperative movement is the 
amount of damage it causes to the community in general. In the first place it 
has frankly been stated that the object of the cooperative enterprise is the elim- 
ination of the principle of individualism from trade and commerce, and it needs 
no argument to show what would result from the accomplishment of this 
object. Let any of our readers who may be located in a working-class district 
in which cooperation has secured a strong foothold look around and note the 
results. In all probability he will find that a number of retailers have been 
compelled to close, rents have to be reduced, rates are lost to the local authori- 
ties, and in place of the local tradesman willing to take his part in local af- 
fairs, to devote his leisure and part of his income to religious, philanthropic, 
or other work for the benefit of the community, there is found the cooperative- 
store director, trade-unionist by day and 'blackleg' (we speak in the trade- 
unionist acceptance of this term) by night. In this way not only is the public 
less well served at higher prices at the cooperative stores, but, in addition, 
unemployment is fostered, and the burden on the community is increased. Nor 
do the conditions of labor in the store in the slightest degree approximate to 
the ideals which cooperators are so fond of flaunting in the faces of the mere 
shopkeepers. * * * To sum up, cooperative trading is bad for the em- 
ployer, for the employee, and for the public, and the one feature to the credit 
of the store is that it makes customers save money, but does so by charging 
them extravagant prices, and periodically hands back or invests a portion of 
the overcharge." 

The principle of purchases for cash in cooperative-society stores is a highly 
commendable one that is maintained very largely. Credit trading, by members 
for general shop goods, however, does exist, and in the northwestern section 
of the union it amounts to an average per member of 4s. 9d. ($1.15). 

As to the degree to which the cooperative societies reduce the cost of the com- 
mon necessaries of life to the consumer, this is a hotly debated point. Inde- 
pendent retailers contend that in order to give back the dividend to the pur- 
chasers the cooperative societies are forced to and do charge more for their 
goods. In certain lines this occasionally appears to have some slight basis of 
truth, but in other lines, particularly where the goods are obtained from coop- 
erative productive sources, it would seem that the prices are no higher and 
the quality fully equal. In this connection it is of interest to quote a coopera- 
tive official who stated that in certain departments their purchases from coop- 
erative sources worked out as high as 83f per cent in groceries, but in others it 
was unfortunately necessarily very low, but that a determined effort was being 
made for each department to maintain a minimum of 50 per cent of purchases 
from cooperative sources. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Augustus E. Ingram, Consul. 

Bradford, England, December 1, 1011. 



EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

The development of cooperative trading in this part of the United Kingdom 
in the last five calendar years is concisely shown by the following statistics: 



1905 



1910 



Retail societies in Scotland: 

Number 

Members 

Share capital 

Sales during year 

Net profit 

Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Society: 

Members 

Share capital 

Sales during year 

Net profit. 

Retail societies in this district (7 counties, population 760,715) 

Number 

Members 

Share capital 

Sales during year 

Net profit 



301 

372, 164 

$20,104,451 

$68,441,638 

$11,596,285 

281 

$1,716,565 

$33, 772, 235 

$1,302,100 

39 

79, 477 

$5, 739, 141 

$16,099,574 

$3, 473, 985 



290 

409, 278 

$24, 440, 410 

$76,515,590 

$12,819,772 

274 

$2,077,300 

$37, 657, 746 

$1,434,756 

36 

90,582 

$6,936,831 

$18,064,098 

$3,894,324 



COOPERATION" AND THE COST OF LIVING. 143 

St. Cuthbert's Cooperative Association (Ltd.), instituted in Edinburgh in 
1859, and registered under the industrial and provident societies act in 1863, 
is the parent cooperative retail society in the district and the second largest 
cooperative retail concern in the United Kingdom, both in membership and in 
volume of trade. Its business is confined to the city of Edinburgh and suburbs. 
It has 44 grocery stores, 3 bakeshops, 24 branch bakery shops, 1 biscuit factory, 
32 fresh-meat stores, 5 drug stores, 7 stores devoted to dry goods, tailoring 
millinery, dressmaking, furniture, furnishing, jewelry, and upholstery, 7 boot 
and shoe stores, 3 crockery and hardware stores, 2 tea rooms, 8 coal depots; 
there are also a wholesale meat warehouse, a wholesale grocery warehouse, a 
wholesale drug warehouse, a paint shop, a plumber's workshop, etc. These 
stores and shops are not all separate establishments, but are comprised in the 
head office and 55 branches, where two or more different classes of goods are 
generally handled. The number of shareholders at the end of 1910 was 40,284. 
Its position as a trading concern in 1910, is here shown: 

Liabilities : 

Share capital $2, 975, 295. 00 

Loans, including any overdraft from bank 144, 944. 00 

Reserve fund 743, 333. 00 

Assets : 

Value of stock in trade 607,412.00 

Value of land, buildings, fixtures 647,324.00 

Investments : 

House property 540, 941. 00 

Other investments 2, 730, 647. 00 

Owing to the society for goods 229, 494. 00 

Employees : 

Distributive (1,597), salaries and wages 425,030.00 

Productive (742), salaries and wages 247,165.00 

Sales and profit : 

Sales during year 7, 386, 734. 00 

Net profit 1, 746, 407. 00 

Interest and dividend : 

Interest on share capital 103, 126. 00 

Average dividend per pound ($4.8665) on purchases 1.054 

The financial condition of the association may be briefly stated thus : The 
interest on its investments covered (1) the interest on share capital; (2) the 
interest on penny savings bank fund, employees' accident fund, and employers' 
liability insurance fund; (3) depreciation of buildings and of fixed stock and 
machinery; and left a balance of more than £200 ($973.30). The reserve fund 
exceeded the entire listed value of buildings, fixtures, machinery, wagons, 
horses, and other property. 

METHOD OF OPERATION. 

Each member must hold at least 5 shares of £1 ($4.8665), all or any part of 
which may be paid on entry, when he or she receives a share book. If not 
fully paid on entry, the member must continue to pay not less than 13s. ($3.16) 
per half year until such time as the 5 shares are paid up. Any arrears of 
members' subscriptions are deducted from their interest and dividends, and 
placed to the credit of their share capital. No member can hold more than 200 
shares in the capital of the association. Shares may be held by two persons 
jointly, either of whom or the survivor may give receipt for the payment thereof 
on production of share book. The association has a lien on the shares, div- 
idend, and interest of any member for any debt due by him to it. Interest is 
paid on share capital at the rate of 4 per cent per annum. Two and one-half 
per cent of the net profits are paid to the reserve fund, and a dividend is de- 
clared on goods purchased, in proportion to the amount of goods paid for 
during the half year — in March and September. These months were fixed upon 
for the half-yearly accounting in order that the dividends could be paid to 
members in April and October and thus be available for Whitsunday (May 15) 
and Martinmas (November 11), the Scotch term days on which all house rents 
are due. 

Members receive a purchase voucher on every cash transaction, which must 
be produced at the half-yearly payment of dividends. All dividends not then 
withdrawn are added to shares. Nonmembers may deal at the stores, getting a 
receipt for the amount of each purchase, on which receipts they are paid half 



144 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

dividend at the prescribed dates; the other half, with the 2\ per cent before 
mentioned, is placed to the credit of the reserve fund. 

Members who have one share or more fully paid up, and may not find it con- 
venient to pay cash on making purchases, will, on application, be supplied with 
a pass book and be allowed to trade in the grocery department upon four- 
fifths of their share capital. Members who wish credit in the various depart- 
ments, including the meat branches, must have two or more shares fully paid 
before being supplied with a pass book, and are allowed to trade on four- 
fifths of their share capital, and must clear their accounts at least once every 
month. No interest is allowed on the capital traded on, the average amount 
due by a member during the half year being taken as the amount of capital 
traded on. 

While the business of the association is mainly on a cash basis, a consider- 
able proportion of the trading is done by members on share-capital account. 

DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS. 

The city is divided into districts for trading purposes. The members of the 
association must deal with the branches in their respective districts. A member 
moving from one district to another must change his account to the nearest 
store. 

The stores are in populous localities, but not on the principal business streets 
where high rents and correspondingly high prices obtain. The object of the 
association is to reach and hold the masses who wish to save as much of their 
earnings as possible. To a large extent members <*all personally or send mes- 
sengers for their goods, but there is a motor-van or horse-vehicle delivery 
three times weekly of goods from the grocery and bread departments, a daily 
van delivery of goods from the drapery, furniture, and boot departments, and. 
a daily delivery of fresh meat by messenger boys. The percentum of trade 
delivered by the cooperative society is probably equal to that of the most im- 
portant individual trading concern in the city. The salaries and wages of 
employees in every department are slightly higher than the salaries and wages 
paid by the average individual trader for similar services. 

In 1910 the approximate cost of distribution (which includes all items of ex- 
pense — rent, interest, taxes, wages, etc.) was Is. 3£d. (31 cents) per pound 
($4.8665) of goods sold. Coal is delivered by rail and team in the association's 
freight cars and horse wagons. Last year the net cost of delivery of coal and 
briquets was 3s. 8Jd. (90 cents) per ton. 

THE PURCHASE OF SUPPLIES. 

All cooperative retail societies in this district hold shares in the Scottish 
Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.). The main office of this concern is in 
Glasgow, and it has branches in Edinburgh and Leith, and important flour 
mills in the last-named city. The wholesale society is both distributive and 
productive. It operates woolen mills, cabinet and brush factories, boot and shoe 
factories, printing works, preserve and confection factories, a tobacco factory, 
flour mills, soap works, etc. Of the goods sold in 1910 almost the entire volume, 
or 95i per cent, was purchased by the cooperative retail societies having shares 
in the wholesale society. For an obvious reason retail associations prefer to 
deal with the wholesale concern in which they hold shares bearing interest at 
the rate of 5 per cent. They not only have in view their direct interests as 
shareholders, and the bonus on goods purchased, which does not fall below 
8d. (16.2 cents) on the pound ($4.8665), but their experience has demonstrated 
that the majority of articles of the principal classes required in a store can 
usually be obtained from the wholesale society at somewhat lower prices than 
from any other source. Independent wholesalers and producers are useful for 
keeping the retail societies in touch with the open market, so that the Coop- 
erative Wholesale Society is not in a position to ask too much for an article. 
The rule among retail societies is, when quality and price are equal between 
the cooperative wholesale and an independent wholesaler, to give the coopera- 
tive the preference. Whenever it is plainly to their advantage to buy in the 
open market, they always do so. A large association like St. Cuthbert's buys 
flour, for example, in quantities of 8,000 to 10,000 sacks (of 280 pounds), and not 
seldom it can get from independent millers a concession of 2£ to 3 per cent from 
what are supposed to be bedrock prices. In most lines of goods St. Cuthbert's 
and other associations occasionally deal directly with producers, and as they 
are large purchasers, and pay promptly, they can obtain the best terms' in any 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OP UVING. 145 

market. But throughout the year the retail societies buy the great bulk of 
their supplies of staple goods from the cooperative wholesale, much of the 
difference between the total retail sales and the total wholesale sales, shown 
in the above statistics, being covered by the retail profits and retailers' own 
production. 

A COOPEEATIVE LENDING SCHEME. 

St. Cutbbert's Association, like other large societies, has a lending scheme, 
intended to help members to acquire homes. A member who has five fully 
paid shares in the association is entitled to receive a loan on security of a 
house under certain conditions. Borrowers may receive an advance to the 
extend of the purchase price or capital value of the property if, in addition to the 
property mortgaged to the association, they hold paid-up shares to the amount 
of 15 per cent of the advance, if the sum borrowed does not exceed £200 
(973.30), but for every additional £100 ($486.65) or part thereof borrowed 20 
per cent must be held in paid-up shares, but subject to the provision that no 
member is entitled to an interest exceeding £200 ($973.30) in the funds of the 
association. Borrowers who do not require an advance to the full amount of 
the purchase price may receive a loan on the security of the property, pro- 
vided the value thereof i« at least 20 per cent above the amount of the advance. 
In all cases the titles are held by the association till the whole sums due in 
connection with the loans have been repaid. The sums borrowed bear 4 per 
cent interest and are repayable by monthly or quarterly installments, the whole 
term not to exceed 21 years. Other conditions are similar to those obtaining 
in all building societies. The lending fund acccount of St. Cuthbert's Associa- 
tion shows that loans have been made to 740 members to enable them to pur- 
chase houses. About 290 have repaid the loans in full, leaving 450 borrowers 
on the books at present. The outstanding loans amount to £70,034 ($340,820.46). 

ATTITUDE OF INDEPENDENT TRADERS. 

The relation of cooperative societies to independent wholesalers and jobbers 
is purely one of self interest, if the latter offer goods at prices which the co- 
operative wholesale concern can not meet, the former will buy the goods. 
Jobbers and commission agents are strongly opposed to the cooperative system 
of trading, especially the wholesale branch of it, but they take advantage of 
all opportunities for selling goods to the retailers. The cooperative movement, 
more particularly the wholesale department, has had a serious effect upon the 
jobbing trade and commission agents. Manufacturers and other producers, 
instead of dealing with jobbers or commission houses, send representatives 
here to take orders from the associations; and this method of doing business 
has been extending until, in many lines of trade, important houses and even 
comparatively small merchants are getting theii goods over the heads of thf 
jobber and commission man. This change may not, of course, have resulted 
altogether from the advent of the cooperative concerns, but in this city they 
have been the principal influence in bringing it about. 

But notwithstanding the middlemen have to some extent been eliminated, 
cooperative tradiag has greatly increased the difficulties of private traders, 
especially small shopkeepers. In Edinburgh the decrease in the number of 
stores or shops, including licensed grocery stores (where wines and spirits are 
sold in bottles or other containers, not to be drunk on the premises), has 
averaged about 20 per year during the last five years. The number of un- 
occupied shops in the city at May 15, 1905, was 463, and at May 15, 1910 (as 
shown by the latest printed report of the burgh assessor), 566. How far the 
closing of shops has been due to the absorption of the general business of 
small shopkeepers by cooperative stores and how far to the increased taxation 
of licensed grocery stores (the excise duty payable on the annual rental valued 
of licensed grocery premises was raised two years ago from £12 14s. ($61.80) 
to £19 10s. ($94.90) on premises of £20 ($92.23) to £30 ($146) annual rental, 
and on others in proportion), may not easily be determined. There can be no 
question, however, that the cooperative societies have closed many private 
shops by attracting the business to their own places and have caused con- 
siderable embarrassment to even the strongest retail grocery, dry goods, hard- 
ware, and boot and shoe houses. Not unnaturally, most private traders are 
most hostile to cooperation, and in this district a majority of the smaller firms 

34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 10 



146 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



and some of the larger are members of a traders' defense association, organ- 
ized for the purpose of breaking down the cooperative system, if possible, by 
carrying on a spirited and persistent propaganda against it in a section of the 
press and by leaflets and other publications. Thus far, in this city and 
vicinity, the opposition apparently has made no progress toward the achieve- 
ment of its object. 

THE EFFECT OF COOPERATIVE TRADING ON THE COST OF LIVING. 

The goods handled by cooperative societies are of standard quality. Bought 
at the lowest prices, they are sold at current retail prices. In the case of St. 
Cuthbert's Association sales at the usual retail prices have yielded heavy 
profits — the figures can not be given — in the bread, drapery, and drug depart- 
ments, and considerably less profits in groceries and other lines. For a num- 
ber of years a dividend of 4/4 ($1,054) per £1 ($4.8665) on purchases has 
been paid to members, so that on behalf of this society it can be said that it 
has reduced the cost of the common necessaries of life by fully 20 per cent to 
the consumer. Other societies in the district are operated on precisely the 
same lines, except that they have uo productive departments, and sell goods at 
current retail prices. A close study of the cooperative system here leads to 
the conclusion that it is essentially a trading scheme, which provides an oppor- 
tunity for laying up money in making daily purchases, and that the exact 
measure of economic benefit is the amount of dividend received. Other co- 
operative retail societies in the district paid dividends on purchases of goods 
by members in 1910 as follows: 



Name of society. 



Armadale 

Bathgate 

Bonnyrigg 

Broxburn 

Dalkeith 

Gorebridge 

Haddington 

Hillwood 

Juniper Green 

Leith 

Musselburgh 

Norton Park ' 

Penicuik 

Portobello 

Prestonpans 

Rosewell 

Springfield 

Tranent 

West Barns 

West Benhar 

WestCalder 

Bo'ness 

Bonnybridge 

Grangemouth 

Earlston 

Galashiels: 

Coal 

United 

Hawick 

Innerleithen 

Kelso 

Langholm 

Peebles 

Riccarton Junction 

Selkirk 

Walkerburn 



Members. 



1,009 
2,952 

512 
1,139 
1, 155 
1,197 
1,172 
1,155 

742 
6,164 
3, 677 

976 
1,908 

920 

710 

346 

57 

2,436 

449 
1,433 
5,049 
1,799 
1,031 
1,446 

260 

115 

2,269 

4,085 

452 

328 

532 

873 

61 

1,126 

308 



Sales. 



$277 

551 

100 

204 

224 

324 

210 

234 

178 

1,029 

1,064 

131 

439 

187 

162 

84 

18 

544 

60 

350 

1,302 

344 

277 

289 

27 

26 
438 
713 
123 

30 
108 
190 

13 
253 
111 



746 
058 
522 
393 
195 
532 
748 
415 
883 
931 
362 
970 
683 
993 
716 
974 
060 
094 
062 
914 
022 
217 
196 
571 
963 

498 
253 
492 
317 
177 
557 
339 
553 
627 
307 



Dividend 

per pound 

($4.8665). 



Cents. 

98.3 

96.2 

78 

75.9 

105.4 

104.4 

85.1 

97.3 

97.3 

97.3 

103.4 

72.9 

90.1 

97.3 

105.4 

97.3 

105.4 

102.4 

78 

94.2 

97.3 

79 

82 

68.9 

48.6 

72.9 

69.9 

85.1 

83 

53.7 

92.1 

70.9 

71.9 

81 

80 



1 Since transferred to St. Cuthbert's. 



It appears from these figures that throughout the district the members of 
cooperative stores who have paid cash for goods have experienced a reduction 
of 10 to 20 per cent in the cost of living, apart from the item of rent. 



COOPERATION- AND THE COST OF LIVING. 147 

AGEICULTUEAL COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES. 

The cooperative movement among farmers, which had accomplished im- 
portant results in England and Ireland many years ago, made little progress 
iu Scotland before 1905. There existed at that time only one agricultural 
cooperative society, viz, the Farmers' Supply Association of Scotland (Ltd.), of 
Leith, with a membership of about 1,400. This association bought fertilizer, 
feeding stuffs, machinery, etc., for the members, charging a small commission, 
but did not undertake to sell farm produce. In 1905 the Scottish Agricultural 
Organization Society (Ltd.), 5 St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, was instituted 
on the model of the English and Irish societies of the same name, for the 
purpose of developing cooperative organization among farmers. It is not a 
trading body, but exists only to aid in the formation and maintenance of agri- 
cultural cooperative societies throughout the country; and it has no assured 
source of income except the voluntary subscriptions of its members and of 
societies affiliated to it. In six years this organization, by well-directed efforts, 
has created 72 agricultural cooperative societies in Scotland, principally among 
small farmers in the highlands and islands. The special objects of these 
societies may be briefly stated. Eighteen are for the collective sale of poultry 
products only ; 7 for the collective sale of dairy products and the utilization of 
surplus milk; 13 for purchasing farm supplies; 18 for the collective sale of 
poultry products and purchase of supplies; 9 for the collective purchase and 
sale of farm produce generally; 2 for dealing in farm requirements and agri- 
cultural produce. Others are for special purposes, such as horse breeding, etc. 
Most of these societies are as yet of little individual importance. 

Inasmuch as 15 were formed in 1909, and 22 in 1910, and 9 in 1911, it will be 
seen that a majority of the whole number are hardly on a working basis at 
this time. Excepting the two associations that now deal in all farm require- 
ments and produce — the Farmers' Supply Association of Scotland (Ltd.), Leith, 
and the North Eastern Agricultural Cooperative Society (Ltd.), Aberdeen— 
the membership of the agricultural societies averages less than 75 each. But 
they are all growing, some slowly and others rapidly, as the advantages of 
organization become more and more apparent. The total trade turnover of 50 
of the societies reporting to the organization society in 1910 was £199,768 
($972,172), of which amount £84,881 ($413,073) must be credited to the Leith 
find Aberdeen societies, referred to above. The benefits accruing to small 
farmers from collective marketing of produce, as far as results in Scotland can 
at present be estimated, are specially noticeable in the poultry and dairy in- 
dustries, from which better returns have been received, mainly through direct 
dealing, with no material advance in prices to consumers. As yet there has 
been no general trading federation of the Scotch societies, and the advantages 
of the collective purchase of supplies have not been fully obtained. The com- 
mission charged by the average society to a member on feeding stuffs is 1£ per 
cent; on fertilizer, 1 shilling (24 cents) per ton; and on other materials and on 
machinery, 2£ per cent. But in the absence of a federation, which would enable 
societies to buy goods in great quantities, local dealers can offer supplies at 
the same and sometimes at lower prices. This means reduced prices all around, 
occasionally a greater reduction to nonmembers than to members, and while it 
is beneficial to the farming community, it proves embarrassing to the societies 
by putting a severe strain on the loyalty of members. Not until collective 
purchase by a committee of federated societies shall have been made possible, 
so that the lowest terms can always be obtained from manufacturers, is it 
expected that the cooperative purchase of supplies will save to the small farmer 
the principal portion of the middleman's profit. To this end the Agricultural 
Organization Society is working against strong opposition from the merchants 
and from some of the large farmers. 

To summarize the results of agricultural cooperation in Scotland up to the 
present time, it may be said — 

(1) The system has enabled members of the societies to obtain supplies and 
materials at less than the prices exacted in the past from small farmers by 
dealers. 

(2) It has enabled the members to get higher prices for farm produce with- 
out correspondingly increasing the cost to consumers. 

(3) It has encouraged small farmers to practice scientific methods of pro- 
duction and thus make full use of their opportunities and to realize better 
profits with no increase of labor or expense. 



148 COOPEEATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

(4) It has impressed upon members of societies the importance of careful 
management and business-like methods and of adapting their efforts to the 
particular conditions in each locality and its relations to the markets. 

AN EXPERT OPINION. 

Robert Wallace, professor of agriculture in the University of Edinburgh, has 
kindly furnished, in response to a request from this office, an expression of his 
opinion in regard to the benefits derived by Scotch farmers from cooperative 
trading, as follows : 

" I desire to say that this movement, which was inaugurated in 1905, has my 
entire sympathy and warm approval. During the few years it has been in 
existence some 72 cooperative trading associations of farmers have been formed, 
and there can be no doubt that those farmers who have adopted cooperative 
methods of purchasing farm requirements in bulked quantities and of market- 
ing farm produce have benefited very materially. This is specially so in the 
case of small holders located in districts remote from the markets. A com- 
munity of small holders, by acting in combination to purchase a bulked con- 
signment through their local society, are enabled to buy on considerably better 
terms than if each purchased his own small lot individually. A considerable 
saving in freight is also effected through buying in considerable quantity, and 
what is of inestimable importance as a means of protecting from fraud the 
class least able to protect themselves is that such commodities as artificial 
manures, feeding stuffs, etc., can be purchased in combination under a guar- 
anty as to analysis, and seeds under a guaranty of purity and germination 
without in any way bringing the individual buyer into conflict with the seller. 

" But, however much the farmers may have benefited through cooperative 
purchase, I have reason to believe that even greater benefits have been con- 
ferred on those who have formed cooperative schemes for the combined marketing 
of produce. In four important milk-producing counties cooperative dairy asso- 
ciations have been formed. These associations have built and equipped in the 
most up-to-date manner depots or factories to which the milk from the individual 
farms is taken where it is handled and dispatched for distribution in the large 
centers of population. An important and essential feature of these depots is 
that they are so equipped as to be in a position to promptly manufacture into 
cheese or butter all milk not required for immediate consumption. It has been 
found in practice that better prices can be obtained under this system, because 
the distributors of milk in the city can rely on getting supplies from such depots 
in quantity to suit the fluctuating demand, and the risk of loss from oversupply 
is thus obviated. I am credibly informed that the dairy farmers who dis- 
pose of their milk through such associations have realized on an average a net 
increased return of fully £2 ($9.73) per cow per annum more than they were 
able to do under the former system of individual marketing, besides relieving 
the women folk at the farm of a great deal of slavish work and leaving them 
free to devote more attention to other forms of production. This, of course, 
only applies to districts too remote from the market to admit of the produce 
being retailed by the producers direct to the consumer. 

" In the development of cooperation in the marketing of produce in Scotland, 
the formation of between 30 and 40 societies for the collection and market- 
ing of poultry produce has played a conspicuous part. By adopting this form 
of combined marketing districts which were hitherto considered too remote 
from the markets to admit of the produce being sold in the best condition are 
now brought, through the agency of the cooperative egg-collecting societies, 
into close touch with the best markets in the country, and supplies of guaran- 
teed newly laid eggs can now be dispatched twice and thrice weekly. Those 
eggs, through being promptly collected, tested for freshness, and graded in a 
manner to meet present-day market requirements, have commanded a ready 
market, and at once supplied a much-felt want. As a consequence the eggs 
from such districts command an increased price of fully 25 per cent over what 
was obtained under the former unbusiness-like system of marketing. Increased 
returns have a wonderful effect in stimulating production. During the past 
year fully £22,000 ($107,063) worth of eggs were marketed on behalf of socie- 
ties organized by the Scottish Agricultural Organization Society (Ltd.). When 
the small holders realize that better prices can be got for their produce they 
readily turn their attention to improve their breeds of fowls and adopt an 
improved system of housing, feeding, and general management. It is computed 
that in the Orkney Islands, where the cooperative scheme of egg collection was 
first adopted, the production of poultry produce has been increased 50 per cent. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 149 

" There can be no doubt that the Scottish Agricultural Organization Society- 
has justified its existence if it had done nothing else than bring into being the 
numerous cooperative trading societies scattered throughout the country; but 
the work is only in its infancy. The natural individualistic inclination of the 
Scottish farmer has gradually to be overborne, and that is being successfully 
accomplished even in the most unpromising quarters, and I anticipate in the 
near future a great development of the agricultural cooperative movement in 
its various aspects. 

" To make my statement complete it is necessary to add that an important 
factor in the successful development of cooperative methods among farmers in 
Scotland has been the fact that the secretary, Mr. John Drysdale, who has been 
responsible for the organization of all the above-mentioned schemes, is himself 
a tenant farmer and skilled agriculturist, as well as a dairy expert, and an 
enthusiast at his work who inspires enthusiasm and confidence in others." 

With this report are inclosed copies of the rules, forms, etc., of St. Cuthbert's 
Cooperative Association (Ltd.). 

Rufus Fleming, Consul. 

American Consulate, 

Edinburgh, Scotland, December 1, 1911. 



No. 1. Rules of St. Cuthbert's Cooperative Association (Ltd.). 

[Instituted August, 1859 ; registered under the industrial and provident societies act. 

Jan. 7, 1863.] 

1. NAME. 

This society shall be called " St. Cuthbert's Cooperative Association (Ltd.). 

2. PUBLICATION OF NAME. 

The association shall paint or affix and keep painted or affixed its name on 
the outside of every office or place in which the business of the association is 
carried on, in a conspicuous position, in letters easily legible, and have its name 
engraven in legible characters on its seal, and have its name mentioned in legible 
characters in all notices, advertisements, and other official publications of the 
association, and in all bills of exchange, promissory notes, indorsements, checks, 
and orders for money or goods, purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the 
association, and in all bills of parcels, invoices, receipts, and letters of credit 
of the association. 

3. OBJECT. 

The object of the association is to raise, by subscription of the members, 
funds to enable them to purchase and sell food, clothes, and other necessaries, 
by carrying on the trade of general dealers and manufacturers ; to feu, buy, and 
sell land or minerals ; to purchase or build and sell house or shop property ; to 
grant loans to members on security of heritable property ; and to carry on any 
business that may be in accordance with the provisions of the industrial and 
provident societies acts, and approved of by the members at a meeting after 
due notice given. 

4. REGISTERED OFFICE. 

The registered office of the association shall be at No. 92 Fountainbridge, 
Edinburgh, where all the books of accounts, securities, and documents of the 
association shall be kept other than such (if any) as are required for carrying 
on business on account of the same elsewhere; or such other place as the 
directors may determine. In the event of any change in the situation of the 
registered office, notice of such change shall be sent within 14 days thereafter 
to the registrar, in manner and form provided by the treasury regulation in 
that behalf. 

5. MEMBERS AND ADMISSION OF MEMBERS. 

The association shall consist of the present members and of all other persons 
or societies under the industrial and provident societies act, or companies, 
being bodies corporate, who may be admitted as members thereof. Any person 



150 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

above the age of 16 may become a member. Any person, society, or company 
applying to become a member of this association shall, on purchasing a copy 
of the rules thereof, be furnished by the secretary with a printed copy of the 
annexed form of application (see p. — ), which he shall sign and forward 
with a deposit of not less than 1 shilling to the secretary. If admitted he shall 
receive a share book, and shall then be deemed a member of the association. 
Any person not approved of by the directors shall have his deposit returned 
within two months from date of application. A register shall be kept contain- 
ing the names, occupations, and addresses of members. 

In the event of any member losing his share book, notice must be given in 
writing at the registered office, as soon as possible, which notice shall be 
entered in a book called the " Record of lost share books ; " and on giving 
satisfactory proof of identity he shall be entitled to a new book at the ex- 
piration of one month from such notice, on payment of sixpence; such book to 
be marked " Duplicate." 

6. BOARD OF MANAGEMENT. 

The management of this association shall be vested in a committee of manage- 
ment, called a board of directors, consisting of president, treasurer, secretary, 
and 17 ordinary directors, one of whom shall act as assistant secretary (nine to 
form a quorum), all of whom shall serve in their respective offices for two 
years. Elections shall take place at the quarterly meetings held in January 
and July, in the following order : The president and four directors, the treasurer 
and four directors at the meetings held in January ; the secretary and four 
directors, and five directors at the meetings held in July. Retiring directors 
are eligible for reelection, but no director shall remain in office for more than 
two terms in succession. Directors who have been twice elected shall not be 
eligible for election until the expiry of three years from the date on which 
they last held office. The association reserves to itself the power to suspend 
or remove any or all of the office bearers or directors at any time, should they 
see cause to do so. No member under 21 years of age shall be eligible to hold 
any office in the association ; nor any member who has not been one year in 
the association, nor whose purchases are less than £25 per annum, nor who 
holds less than £5 of share capital, no part of which can be traded on, not- 
withstanding the provision in rule 39 ; nor any member insolvent ; nor any 
member who is a servant of the association; nor any member having rela- 
tives engaged as employees in the association. No one further removed than 
brother or sister to be considered relatives under this rule. The directors in 
office at the passing of the complete amendment on these rules shall continue 
in office for the following periods: President and four directors elected in 
October, 1908, until January, 1910; five directors elected in April, 1909, until 
July, 1910 ; treasurer and four directors elected in January, 1909, until Janu- 
ary, 1911; secretary and four directors elected in July, 1909, until July, 1911. 

7. MODE OF ELECTION. 

Candidates for any office must be nominated at the quarterly meeting previous 
to election, and their names and addresses, together with the names of their 
proposers, shall be printed in the report submitted to the meeting. Should the 
number of candidates be reduced below the number required from any cause 
whatever between the date of nomination and election, the meeting shall pro- 
ceed to elect from the members eligible a person or persons to fill the office ; and 
should a vacancy occur during a quarter, the directors shall elect any eligible 
member to fill up said vacancy, said election to be subject to the approval of 
the members at the first quarterly meeting thereafter. Election shall be by open 
vote, and the person having a clear majority of votes over the combined votes 
of the unsuccessful candidates shall be declared elected. Should the election 
not be decided on the first or second vote, according to the foregoing mode, a 
third and final vote shall be taken, when the successful candidates shall be 
those having the highest number of votes. Canvassing shall not be allowed by 
or on behalf of candidates, under penalty of disqualification. " Canvassing " 
to include soliciting votes either by circular, advertising, writing, or speaking 
on behalf of candidates, or corruptly giving any consideration as an inducement 
whereby candidates would obtain a preference or an advantage in elections. 
Any dispute arising from above shall be submitted to the board of managers, 
whose decision shall be final. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 151 

8. DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT. 

The directors shall meet every Wednesday (holidays excepted), not later 
than 7.30 p. m., and on such other days as they may appoint, for the 
transaction of business. They shall be divided into at least three subcom- 
mittees, so that each department of the business shall be duly supervised. The 
subcommittee shall meet weekly (holidays excepted) at such times as the board 
of directors shall appoint, and shall consider the business pertaining to their 
respective departments. They shall prepare minutes of the business transacted 
by them, which shall be submitted to the board of directors at the first weekly 
meeting thereafter. The directors shall also make such arrangements as may 
be deemed necessary for the management of the affairs of the association, hear 
complaints, and settle disputes, and their decision shall be binding if not ap- 
pealed against at the time to the first quarterly meeting. 

They shall cause the accounts of all business carried on on behalf of the 
association to be regularly entered in proper books, and caused to be prepared 
for the members a statement of the affairs of the association, made up to the 
Tuesday following the first Saturday of the months of March and September 
in each year, at least six days before the meetings in April and October. They 
shall have power to engage, dismiss, and regulate the wages of all servants; 
and where caution is required from any servant- of office holder, they shall 
cause such parties to find proper security, and shall attend to all such matters 
as are required by the rules or interests of the association. In the absence of 
any office bearer the meeting shall appoint one of their number to act pro 
tempore. 

All dispositions of heritable property sold by the directors, on behalf of the 
association, and all discharges of bonds in favor of members under the lending 
scheme, and also all other deeds of every description which require to be 
executed by the association, shall be signed on behalf of the association by two 
directors and secretary, and sealed with the seal of the association. 

9. DUTIES AND QUALIFICATIONS OF PRESIDENT. 

The president shall act as chairman at all directors' and general meetings. 
The minutes of the proceedings at all meetings shall be signed by him, or the 
chairman presiding thereat, and the president shall sign all bank checks 
and contracts made in name of the association; in his unavoidable absence the 
signature of treasurer and secretary will be accepted on bank checks. He 
shall have a casting vote in addition to his vote as a member. No member 
shall be eligible for this office unless he has served one year as a director of the 
association. 

10. DUTIES AND QUALIFICATIONS OF TREASURER. 

The treasurer shall attend all directors' and general meetings, and shall be 
responsible for such sums of money, securities, and documents as shall be 
entrusted to him by the directors on behalf of the association. He shall sign 
all bank checks and contracts sanctioned by the directors; in his unavoidable 
absence the signature of president and secretary will be accepted on bank 
checks. He shall examine the cash book and bank books, and submit to the 
directors an abstract of the cash transactions weekly, and prepare a monthly 
statement in the book kept for that purpose. He shall also, along with the 
secretary, see that a proper set of books are kept, and shall have the custody 
of the association's seal, and affix it to all the necessary documents. Before 
entering on the duties of his office he shall find security to the satisfaction of 
the directors. No member shall be eligable to this office unless he has served 
one year as a director or auditor of the association; nor unless he has passed 
an examination in bookkeeping by, and holds a certificate of competency from, 
the cooperative union, or other examining body approved of by the members. 
The latter clause of this rule shall not become operative until July, 1911. 

11. DUTIES AND QUALIFICATIONS OF SECRETARY. 

The secretary shall attend all meetings of the association and directors, and 
shall record correctly minutes of all the proceedings in a proper book ; he shall 
sign the same, as also all bank checks and contracts sanctioned by the directors; 
in his unavoidable absence the signature of president and treasurer will be 



152 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

accepted on bank checks. He shall conduct the correspondence of the board of 
management, summon all special meetings, and transmit to the registrar the 
annual and other returns required by law. He shall be responsible for all docu- 
ments entrusted to him by the directors, and shall supply to every person on 
demand a copy of the rules of the association at a price not exceeding 1 shilling, 
and shall on all occasions act under the control of the directors. No member 
shall be eligible to this office unless he has served one year as a director or 
auditor of the association. 

12. EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE. 

There shall be a committee appointed for educational purposes, consisting of 
a chairman, secretary, and four members of committee. The whole committee 
shall be elected at the quarterly meeting in April, and must be nominated and 
elected in terms of rule 7. They shall serve in office for one year. 

No person shall be eligible for election to this committee who has not been 
one year a member of the association, or whose purchases are less than £25 per 
annum, or who holds less than £5 of share capital in the association, no part of 
which can be traded on, notwithstanding the provision in rule 39 ; nor any mem- 
ber insolvent; nor any member who is a servant of the association; nor any 
member having relations engaged as employees in the association. No one 
further removed than brother or sister to be considered relatives under this 
rule. 

The committee shall meet with the board of directors once a quarter, or as often 
as may be necessary in the iuterests of the association, and shall submit the 
minutes of their meetings for consideration and decision of the board. 

They shall also prepare a statement annually, showing the expenditure in- 
curred up to the Tuesday following the first Saturday of June in each year, 
and submit a report of the work they propose to undertake during the ensuing 
year to the board of directors. They shall decide what work shall be proceeded 
with, and fix the sum they wish the members to grant for educational purposes. 
This report and statement shall be printed in the quarterly report for considera- 
tion and decision of members. 

The treasurer will pay all sums for educational purposes, up to the amount 
of the grant given by the members, on receiving an order to do so signed by 
the chairman and secretary of the educational committee. 

The fund at the disposal of the educational committee shall be applied to the 
furtherance of cooperative principles amongst the members, or in the district, 
by the holding of meetings or distribution of cooperative literature, or for any 
purpose conducive to the health, instruction, or recreation of the members or 
their families, or for any other purpose the members may direct. 

The educational committee shall be responsible for the funds placed at their 
disposal, and shall not be allowed to vote away any portion thereof to be spent 
or disposed of by any other party unless with the consent of the association. 

13. AUDITORS AND THEIR DUTIES. 

There shall be eight members of the association elected as auditors, who shall 
serve for two years, so that one shall be appointed at each quarterly meeting. 

No member shall be eligible for the office of auditor unless he has passed the 
auditor's examination by and holds a certificate of competency from the coop- 
erative union, or other examining body approved of by the members, or who has 
not been one year in the association, or whose purchases are less than £25 per 
annum, or who holds less than £5 of share capital, no part of which can be 
traded on, notwithstanding the provision in rule 39 ; nor any member insolvent ; 
nor any member who is a director of the association ; nor any member who is a 
servant of the association; nor any member having relations engaged as em- 
ployees in the association. No one further removed than brother or sister to 
be considered relatives under this rule. 

Candidates for auditors will be nominated and elected, all in terms of rule 7. 

Retiring auditors may be reelected, but no auditor shall remain in office for 
more than two terms in succession. Auditors who have served two terms shall 
not be eligible for election until the expiry of two years from the date they last 
held office. 

The auditors shall have access to all the books and accounts of the associa- 
tion, and shall examine every balance sheet and annual return of the receipts 
and expenditure, funds, and effects of the association, and shall verify the same 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 153 

with the accounts and vouchers relating thereto, and shall either sign the same 
as found by them to be correct, duly vouched, and in accordance with law, or 
shall specially report to the meeting of the association before which the same 
is laid in what respects they find it incorrect, unvouched, or not in accordance 
with law; and every such balance sheet signed by the auditors and approved 
of by the meeting shall be binding on the members of the association. 

14. ANNUAL RETURN. 

Every year before the 31st of March the board of management shall cause the 
secretary to send to the registrar the annual return, in the form prescribed by 
the chief registrar of friendly societies required by the industrial and provident 
societies act, of the receipts and expenditure, funds, and effects of the associa- 
tion, and of the number of members of the same up to the 31st of December 
then last inclusive, as audited and laid before a general meeting, showing sepa- 
rately the expenditure in respect of the several objects ot the association, to- 
gether with a copy of the auditors' report, if any. Such return shall state 
whether the audit has been conducted by a public auditor appointed under the 
industrial and provident societies act, and by whom ; and if such audit has been 
conducted by any person or persons other than a public auditor, shall state 
the name, address, and calling or profession of each of such persons, and the 
manner in which and the authority under which they were respectively ap- 
pointed. It shall be the duty of the directors to provide a sufficient number of 
copies of the annual return for supplying gratuitously every member or person 
interested in the funds of the association on his application, with a copy of the 
last annual return of the association for the time being. 

A copy of the last balance sheet of the association and auditors' report shall 
be kept always hung up in a conspicuous place in the registered office of the 
association. 

15. SHARE CAPITAL. 

The capital of the association shall be raised in shares of £1 each, which shall 
not be transferable, except in the cases mentioned in rules Nos. 18 and 19. Each 
member must hold at least five shares, all or any part of which may be paid on 
entry, and shall continue .to pay not less than 13 shillings per half year until 
such time as said five shares are paid up. The arrears of members' subscrip- 
tions shall be deducted from their interest and dividends and placed to the 
credit of their share capital. Should the interest and dividends not amount 
to the sum of their arrears, they shall be fined in the sum of sixpence, which 
may be deducted from their paid-up capital. No member shall hold more than 
200 shares in the capital of the association. Shares may be held by two indi- 
viduals jointly ; either of whom, or survivor, may give effectual receipt for the 
payment thereof, on production of share book, and all notices relating to such 
share shall be given to such one as they jointly direct, and in default of any 
direction, notice sent to the one whose name stands first on the books of the 
association shall be deemed sufficiently given, and he only shall be entitled to 
vote. The association shall have a lien on the shares, dividend, and interest of 
any member for any debt due by him to it. All sums due by any member for 
subscriptions, debts, whether on trading account or otherwise, shall be retained 
from any interest or dividends that may be due to him by the association, or 
deducted from his paid-up shares, or recovered from him, his executors, or 
administrators by legal process as a debt due to the association. (See also 
rules Nos. 39 and 40.) 

16. WITHDRAWAL OF SHARE CAPITAL. 

Any member, except those who have obtained loans on heritable property, as 
hereinafter provided for, may, on giving one week's notice in writing to the 
directors, withdraw two of the shares he holds over the first five, and shall give 
one week's additional notice for every five shares he wishes to withdraw. The 
directors may, if they think fit, dispense with the notice required by this rule. 
No member shall be entitled to reduce the capital he holds under five shares, 
but members in distress or leaving the city may withdraw any sum they have 
in the funds at the discretion of the directors. Any member who may have in 
such cases withdrawn or reduced his capital under five shares shall be subject 
to the conditions of rule No. 15. 



154 OOOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

17. WITHDRAWAL OF MEMBERS. 

Any member, except those who have not repaid their loans on heritable property 
(see rule 43), may withdraw from the association on giving notice in writing 
to the secretary. Upon the withdrawal of a member he shall, under deduction 
of a sum not exceeding 5 shillings, and any debts he may be due to the associa- 
tion, receive payment of all money standing at his credit over five shares, accord- 
ing to the scale of time mentioned in rule 16, and the remaining five shares shall, 
at the discretion of the directors, be paid to him within three months thereafter. 
Each member on withdrawal will receive an allowance on goods paid from date 
of last balance, the amount of said allowance to be determined by the directors 
from time to time. 

18. NOMINATION OF MEMBERS' SUCCESSORS. 

A book shall be kept at the registered office of the association, whereby any 
member may, by writing under his hand made in said book, nominate any per- 
son or persons other than an officer or servant of the association (unless such 
officer or servant is the husband, wife, father, mother, child, brother, sister, 
nephew, or niece of the nominator) to or among whom his property in the asso- 
ciation, whether in shares, loans, or deposits, or so much thereof as is specified 
in such nomination (if the nomination does not comprise the whole), shall be 
transferred at his decease, provided the amount credited to him in the books of 
the association does not then exceed £100 sterling. 

A nomination so made may be revoked or varied by any similar document 
under the hand of the nominator made as aforesaid, but shall not be revocable 
or variable by the will of the nominator or any codicil thereto. The nominator 
shall pay threepence for the receiving or registering of every such nomination, 
revocation, or variation. 

19. SHARES OF DECEASED AND BANRTJPT MEMBERS. 

(a) On receiving satisfactory proof of the death of a nominator, the directors 
shall, at their option, either transfer the shares in manner directed in such 
nomination, or pay to any person entitled thereunder the full value of his 
interest, unless the shares to be transferred to any nominee would raise his 
interest in the association to an amount exceeding £200, in which case they 
shall pay him the full value of such shares, not exceeding the sum aforesaid. 
An entry of such payment shall be made in the proper book, and thereupon the 
shares so paid for shall be extinguished. 

(6) If any member entitled to an interest in the association not exceeding 
£300 dies intestate and without having made a nomination under the act then 
subsisting, such interest shall be transferable or payable without confirmation 
to or among the persons who appear to a majority of the directors, upon such 
evidence as they may deem satisfactory, to be entitled by law to receive the 
same. If any such member is illegitimate and leaves no widow, widower, or 
issue, the directors shall deal with his property in the association as the treas- 
ury shall direct. 

(c) If any member dies leaving a will, and without having made a nomina- 
tion, then subsisting, under the act, the directors shall, on the production of con- 
firmation of same, pay such money over to the executors thereof, in accordance 
with rules 16 and 17. In case of the bankruptcy of any member, the amount 
standing to his credit, after deducting all debts due by said member to the 
association, shall be paid to the trustee of the property of such bankrupt. 

(d) All payments under this rule are subject to the condition that if the total 
property of the member at the time of his death exceeds £80, the directors shall 
require production, from the inland revenue, of a receipt for the succession or 
legacy duty payable thereon, or a letter or certificate stating that no such duty 
is payable. 

(e) Where a member or person claiming through a member of the association 
is insane, and no committee of his estate or trustee of his property has been 
duly appointed, the association may, when it is proved to the satisfaction of the 
directors that it is just and expedient so to do, pay the amount of the shares, 
loans, and deposits not exceeding £100 belonging to such member or person to 
any person whom they shall judge proper to receive the same on his behalf, 
whose receipt shall be a good discharge to the association for any sum so paid. 

(/) All payments or transfers made by the directors of the association, under 
the provisions of this act, with respect to payments or transfers to or on behalf 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 155 

of deceased or insane members, to any person who at the time appears to the 
directors to be entitled thereunder, shall be valid and effectual against any 
demand made upon the directors or association by any other person. 

2 0. INVESTMENT OF CAPITAL. 

The board of management may invest any part of the funds of the associa- 
tion — 

(a) In or upon any security in which trustees are for the time being author- 
ized by law to invest; and 

(&) In or upon any mortgage bond, debenture, debenture stock, corporation 
stock, annuity rent charge, rent, or other security (not being securities payable 
to bearer) authorized by or under any act of Parliament passed or to be passed 
of any local authority as defined by section 34 of the local loans act, 1875 ; and 

(c) In the shares or on the security of any other society registered or deemed 
to be registered under the industrial and provident societies act, or under the 
building societies acts, or of any company registered under the companies acts 
or incorporated by act of Parliament or by charter, provided that no such 
investment be made in the shares of any society or company other than one 
with limited liability, subject to the condition that the directors shall not invest 
any part of the funds of the association in the shares of any other society or 
company without the consent of the members. 

The directors may appoint one or more of their number to represent the 
association in any society, company, corporation, or institution of which the 
association is a member, or in which it is otherwise interested ; and every repre- 
sentative member shall have the right of voting according to the constitution of 
the society, company, corporation, or institution in which the investment is 
made or to which the contribution is given. Representatives of this association 
on attendance at such meeting shall present credentials, signed by the secre- 
tary and stamped with the association's seal, to the secretary of the society, 
company, corporation, or institution to which they are accredited, and no vote 
of any person who does not bear such credentials shall be binding on this 
association. 

21. LOANS AND DEPOSITS. 

The directors may, subject to the provisions of the act, obtain, by way of 
loan, from any member or members of this association, or failing them from any 
other source, such sum or sums of money, not exceeding the value of the 
heritable property held by the association, as two-thirds of the members present 
at any general or special general meeting may sanction, upon bond, bill, or 
other security, at such rate of interest, and subject to such provisions for re- 
payment as are agreed upon for such loans, and all moneys so secured shall 
be payable in the manner mentioned in such bond, bill, or other security, which 
must be signed by the president, treasurer, and secretary for the time being, and 
the seal of the association adhibited thereto. 

The directors may receive money on deposit from members in sums not ex- 
ceeding 10 shillings in one payment. No depositor can exceed £20. All such 
deposits shall bear interest at the rate of 3 per cent per annum. Deposits may 
be withdrawn at 14 days' notice, or sooner should the directors see fit, but in no 
case in less than two days' notice. 

No payment of withdrawable capital shall be made while any claim due on 
account of any such deposit is unsatisfied. 

22. REDUCTION OF SHARES. 

The directors shall have power at any time to repay to members all or any 
proportion of the capital they hold in the association over five shares, com- 
mencing with those holding the largest amount. Should any member allow his 
capital to remain in the funds of the association after receiving not less than 
14 days' notice in writing, such capital shall not bear interest after the time 
for repayment stated in such notice. 

23. APPLICATION OF PROFITS. 

The net proceeds of all business carried on by the association, at the end of 
each half year, after paying or providing for the expense of management and 
interest upon loans and deposits, shall be applied in the following manner : 

(1) In payment of interest on share capital at the rate of 4 per cent per 
annum. 

Note. — (a) Shares shall not begin to bear interest until the commencement 
of the quarter succeeding the one in which they are paid up. 



156 OOOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

(&) Share capital withdrawn on or before the last day of the quarter shall 
not bear interest for any part of that quarter, and no interest shall be paid on 
any fractional part of a pound. 

(c) Each quarter will end on the Tuesday following the first Saturday of 
the months of March, June, September, and December, respectively. 

(2) In depreciation of fixed stock, plant and machinery, land, and buildings, 
at such rates as the directors may from time to time determine. 

(3) In payment of any sum not exceeding 1 per cent of the net profits of the 
previous half year to any charitable, benevolent, educational, or other lawful 
purpose that may have been voted by a majority of foUr-fifths of the members 
voting at a regular quarterly meeting of the association, provided notice has 
been given to the secretary in writing 21 days previous to the meeting, or by 
recommendation of directors; said notice or recommendation must state the 
object and amount proposed to be voted, and shall be printed on the billet of 
business calling the meeting. 

(4) In payment of 2| per cent of the net profits to the reserve fund. The 
directors shall have power, should they see cause, subject to the approval of 
the members at the next general meeting, to increase the above 2£ per cent to 
any sum not exceeding 10 per cent of the net profits. 

(5) In payment of a dividend to members and nonmembers in proportion to 
the amount of goods paid for by them during the half year, unless goods pur- 
chased on wholesale terms and conditions, net goods, or estimated work. Non- 
members shall only be entitled to half dividend on their purchases; the other 
half, with the 2\ per cent before mentioned, shall be placed to the credit of the 
reserve fund. Interest and dividends not withdrawn shall be added to the 
member's share account. No person shall receive full dividend for goods pur- 
e-based unless his name appears on the list of members at the end of the half 
year in which said goods were paid for. 

(6) After the above payments have been provided for the balance, if any, 
shall be carried forward to next half year. 

24. RESERVE FUND. 

There shall be a reserve fund, to the credit of which the deduction from the 
net profits specified in rule No. 23 and the half of the profits on nonmembers' 
purchases, fines, and withdrawals shall be placed. This fund shall be allowed 
to accumulate till it reaches the proportion of one-half of the associations sub- 
scribed capital. When it reaches the above proportion the net profits, without 
deduction, along with the half of the profits on nonmembers' purchases, shall 
be divided at the half yearly balance, according to rule No. 23. This fund 
shall be applied to meet any losses or bad debts occurring to the association. 
No member in or leaving the association shall have any claim on this fund. 

25. BANKING ACCOUNTS. 

An account shall be opened with a bank or banks, selected by the board of 
management, where all moneys shall be lodged in the name of the association. 
All orders and checks shall be signed by the president, treasurer, and secretary, 
and bear the association's seal. In the unavoidable absence of either of the 
three, the signatures of the other two will be accepted on bank checks. 

26. QUARTERLY MEETINGS. 

There shall be four general meetings of the association yearly. They shall 
be held in the months of January, April, July, and October. Such meeetings 
shall be for the purpose of hearing the minutes of the previous quartely and 
directors' meetings, receiving the half-yearly report at those held in April and 
October, electing office bearers and directors, hearing and deciding appeals, 
making suggestions, and passing resolutions for the guidance of the directors, 
and explaining the principles and rules of the association. At the January 
meeting in each year the members shall determine the salary of the office 
bearers, directors, auditors, and educational committee. No general or special 
meeting shall proceed to business unless 40 members are present within half 
an hour after the time for meeting, otherwise it shall stand adjourned to that 
day week. No meeting shall be rendered incapable of transacting business for 
want of a quorum after the chair has been taken. Any meeting may adjourn 
from time to time for any period not exceeding 14 days. Notice of the time 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 157 

and place of the ordinary general meetings shall be stated in the quarterly 
notice calling such meetings, but a notice posted in the association's place of 
business for 6 days previous to such meeting shall be held sufficient intimation. 
At all meetings each member shall have one vote only, and no vote by proxy 
shall be allowed. 

27. SPECIAL GENERAL MEETINGS. 

A special general meeting may be convened at any time by a resolution of 
the directors, or by a requisition lodged in the hands of the secretary, sigued 
by at least 40 members, and specifying the object of the meeting. Such meet- 
ing shall be called by a notice posted in the association's place of business for 
six days, and advertised in the Edinburgh daily evening papers on at least two 
consecutive occasions, previous to meeting. Such notice shall state the time, 
place, and object of the meeting, and no business but what is specified in the 
notice shall be taken up. If the meeting is called by requisition, before any 
steps are taken the requisitionists shall lodge the sum of 40 shillings with the 
secretary, and a vote of the majority of the members present shall decide 
whether the expense is to be borne by the requisitionists, or paid from the associa- 
tion's funds. 

28. INJURIOUS CONDUCT. 

The board of management may suspend any member whose conduct is, in 
their judgment, injurious to the association, until they can submit the same to 
a general meeting, of which the offender shall have seven clear days' notice, 
specifying the nature of the charge. The meeting shall have power to expel such 
member, or otherwise, as it may think fit. No person expelled shall be read- 
mitted, except by a majority of two-thirds of the votes at a general meeting, nor 
unless notice has been given at the previous general meeting of the intention to 
propose his readmission. A member so expelled shall be paid the amount 
standing at his credit in the books of the association upon his expulsion, after 
deduction of any debts he may be due the association, and withdrawal fee, as 
per rule 17. 

29. DISPUTES. 

Should any dispute arise between the association and any of its members, or 
any person claiming through a member or under the rules, it shall be settled 
by the sheriff of Midlothian or one of his substitutes. 

Should any member have a complaint regarding the price or quality of goods 
supplied by the association, or any other matter affecting his interest, he shall 
first state his complaint to the board of directors, who shall decide thereon. 
Should their decision not give satisfaction, the complaining member may appeal 
to the next general meeting, provided he gives notice to the directors, at the 
time of receiving their decision, of his intention to do so. 

30. INSPECTION OF BOOKS BY ORDER OF REGISTRAR. 

Any 10 members of the association (of not less than 12 months' standing as 
members) may apply to the assistant registrar for Scotland in the form provided 
in the treasury regulations on that behalf to appoint an accountant or actuary to 
inspect the books of the association and to report thereon. Such applicants shall 
deposit with said registrar such sum as a security for the costs of the proposed 
inpection as he may require. In the event of the said registrar acceding to the 
application and appointing an accountant or actuary to inspect and report in 
terms thereof, all expenses of and incidental to such inspection shall be defrayed 
by the applicants, or oat of the funds of the association or by the members or 
officers or former members or officers of the association in such proportions as 
said registrar may direct. A person appointed under this section shall have 
power to make copies of any books of the association, and to take extracts 
therefrom, at all reasonable hours at the registered office of the association or 
at any place where the books are kept. The registrar shall communicate the re- 
sults of any such inspection to the applicants and to the association. 

31. INSPECTION OF AFFAIRS OF ASSOCIATION BY ORDER OF REGISTRAR. 

It shall be the right of one-tenth of the members should the total number of 
members not exceed 1,000, or of 100 members should the total number of mem- 
bers exceed 1.000, by an application in writing to the assistant registrar for 
Scotland, signed by them in the forms respectively provided by the treasury 



158 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

regulations in that behalf (1) to apply for the appointment of one or more in- 
spectors to examine into the affairs of the association and to report thereon; (2) 
to apply for the calling of a special meeting of the association. Any such appli- 
cation shall be supported by such evidence for the purpose of showing that the 
applicants have good reason for requiring such inspection to be made, or meet- 
ing to be called, and that they are not actuated by malicious motives in their 
application, and such notice thereof shall be given to the association, as the 
chief registrar shall direct. The applicants shall, if required by the said regis- 
trar, give security for the costs of the proposed inspection or meeting before any 
inspector is appointed or meeting called. All expenses of and incidental to such 
inspection or meeting shall be defrayed by the members applying for the same, 
or out of the funds of the association, or by the members or officers or former 
members or officers of the association in such proportions as the said registrar 
shall direct. An inspector appointed under this section may require the pro- 
duction of all or any of the books, accounts, securities, aud documents of the asso- 
ciation, and may examine on oath its officers, members, agents, and servants in 
relation to its business, and may administer an oath accordingly. If a special 
meeting is appointed to be held in response to any application as aforesaid, the 
said registrar may direct at what time and place the meeting is to be held, and 
what matters are to be discussed and determined at the meeting, and the meeting 
shall have all the powers of a meeting called according to the rules of the asso- 
ciation, and shall, in all cases, have power to appoint its own chairman. 

32. CUSTODY, USE, AND DEVICE OF THE SEAL OF THE ASSOCIATION. 

The association shall have its name engraven in legible characters upon a 
seal, which shall be kept in the custody of the treasurer for the time being, and 
shall be used only as directed in rule No. 10. The date shall be affixed to every 
instrument to which the seal is attached, and shall be attested by the signatures 
of two directors and secretary. The form of the seal shall be a round stamp, 
with the words " St. Cuthbert's Cooperative Association (Ltd.)" round the edge, 
and a circle of St. Cuthbert's beads surrounding the top on an encrinite in the 
center as a device. 

33. INSPECTION OF BOOKS AND ACCOUNTS. 

Any member or person having an interest in the funds of the association shall 
be allowed to inspect his own account and the books containing the names of the 
members at all reasonable hours at the registered office of the association, 
subject to such regulations as to the time and manner of such inspection as may 
be made from time to time by the general meeting of the association. 

The members may, by a special resolution passed at any general meeting, 
authorize two or more of their number to inspect any or all the books of the 
association. 

34. LIST OF MEMBERS. 

The board of directors shall cause a list of all members to be kept at the 
registered office of the association, stating the name, occupation of each, and 
address. All notices required to be given or sent to a member shall be con- 
sidered duly served by sending or posting the same to his residence inserted 
on such list; and if any member shall change his place of residence, he shall 
notify the same, in writing, to the secretary, who shall, on receiving such 
notice, make the requisite alteration therein. Members failing to intimate to 
the secretary, in writing, when they change their address, shall be fined in the 
sum of 6 pence. 

35. ALTERATION OF RULES. 

No new rule shall be made nor any of the rules herein contained, or that may 
hereafter be made, shall be altered or repealed, except by a majority of two- 
thirds of the votes at a general meeting of the association, nor unless due notice 
in writing has been given of the proposed alteration at the general meeting 
immediately preceding. No new rule or amendment of rules shall be valid until 
registered. 

36. CONSTRUCTION OF RULES. 

In construing these rules, words importing the masculine gender shall be 
taken to apply to the feminine ; words importing one person or thing only shall 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 159 

be taken to apply to more than one person or thing; and words importing a 
class shall be taken to apply to the majority of that class, unless there is some- 
thing in the context to prevent such a construction. 

37. DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION. 

The association may at any time be dissolved by the consent of three-fourths 
of the members, testified by their signatures to an instrument of dissolution 
in the form provided by the treasury regulations in that behalf. 

38. FINES. 

s. d. 
Members absent from any quarterly or special meeting, unless they send 
in a reasonable excuse in writing not later than the day on which the 

meeting is to be held, will be fined 3 

Members losing share book (see rule No. 5) 6 

Members in arrear with their quarterly subscriptions (see rule No. 15) _ 6 

Members not intimating change of address (see rule No. 34) 6 

All fines shall be enforced unless in cases of personal or family distress, and 
if not paid within three months, shall be deducted from the member's capital, 
and carried to the reserve fund. 

39. CAPITAL TEADED ON. 

Members who have one share or more fully paid up, and may not find it con- 
venient to pay ready money on making their purchases, will, on application, be 
supplied with a pass book, and be allowed to trade in the grocery department 
upon four-fifths of their share capital. Members who wish credit in the various 
departments, including the butcher meat branches, must have two or more 
shares fully paid up before being supplied with a pass book, and are allowed 
to trade on four-fifths of their share capital, and they must clear their accounts 
at least once every month. Members leaving a balance will only be allowed 
credit in grocery department. The pass books issued remain the property of the 
association, and are supplied on the terms and conditions printed on the covers 
thereof. 

Any member failing to pay his account to the association shall, at the ex- 
piry of six months from the date the debt was contracted, have the amount 
of said debt withdrawn from his share capital. Any member who may have 
in such cases his share capital reduced under five shares shall be subject to the 
conditions of rule No. 15. 

No interest shall be allowed on capital traded on, and the average amount 
due by a member during the half year shall be taken as the amount of capital 
traded on. 

40. LOW OB NONPTJBCHASING MEMBERS. 

The directors shall have power to erase from the list of members the name of 
any member whose purchases from the association during the preceding six 
months do not amount to the value of £5 ; but before doing so the directors 
shall cause intimation of their intention respecting any such member to be sent 
him at least eight day? before thus excluding him from the association ; and 
tvithin three weeks after erasing his name they shall place at his disposal any 
funds he may have in the association, after having deducted therefrom his 
debts, if any, to the association. Any member so excluded shall have no 
further claim upon the association, but he may again be readmitted in the usual 
form as per rule. 

Members whose purchases during the preceding six months do not amount to 
the value of £10 will not be allowed to hold share capital above the sum of £50. 

Rules Applicable to Lending Scheme. 

41. applications fob loans. 

Applications for loans on security of houses shall be made m the form of 
schedule D (see p. 335), or as near thereto as the case will allow, and shall be 
lodged with the secretary. Every borrower shall be deemed such from the time 
of his application being accepted. 



160 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

42. BORROWERS' REGISTER. 

The directors shall cause to be kept a register, in which shall be entered the 
names of members wishing to obtain loans on houses, the number of shares 
held by each, and the size and class of house acquired or to be acquired. 

43. CONDITIONS ON WHICH A LOAN MAY BE GRANTED. 

No member shall be entitled to receive an advance on a house unless he holds 
five shares fully paid up in the association. Borrowers may receive an advance 
to the extent of the purchase price or capital value of property, provided said 
price or value does not exceed the value as per surveyor's report hereinafter 
mentioned. 

But in respect of said advance, and in addition to the security over the property, 
borrowers must hold paid-up shares in the association to the amount of 15 per 
cent of the said advance, if the sum borrowed does not exceed £200; and for 
every additional £100 or part thereof borrowed, 20 per cent shall be held in 
paid-up shares, but subject to the provision that no member shall be entitled 
to an interest exceeding £200 in the funds of the association. Borrowers 
who do not require an advance to the full amount of the purchase price, or 
value of the property, as per said surveyor's report, may receive a loan from 
the association on the security of said property, provided the value thereof is 
at least 20 per cent above the amount of the advance. 

Borrowers who have share capital held in security for advances made may, 
on payment of 15 per cent of the sum advanced, withdraw said capital to repay 
the loan. Or when 25 per cent of the sum advanced is repaid, borrowers may 
withdraw said capital for any purpose, subject to the condition that no borrower 
can withdraw from the association while any portion of an advance is unpaid. 

44. SURVEYOR'S REPORT. 

Members may select their own houses in any district of the city of Edin- 
burgh or suburbs ; but it shall be the duty of the directors, on receipt of an 
application by a member for an advance to enable him to purchase a house, 
to employ a surveyor, or other competent party, to value such property, and ou 
no account to entertain the application unless the valuer's report be in every 
way satisfactory. The expense connected with such valuation shall be defrayed 
by the applicant. 

4 5. HOW TTTLE MAY BE TAKEN. 

The title of any property on which a loan is granted may be taken in favor 
of the borrower, or of the association, as may be arranged in each instance. 
If the title is taken in favor of the borrower, he shall grant a bond and dispo- 
sition in security in favor of the association in usual form. If the title is 
taken in favor of the association, the borrower shall grant a personal bond for 
the loan in usual form. In all cases the titles shall be held by the association 
till the whole sums due in connection with the loans have been repaid. 

4 6. REPAYMENT OF LOANS. 

Each borrowing member shall repay the sum borrowed by periodical pay- 
ments covering principal and interest thereof, for such number of years, not 
exceeding 21, as may be arranged and approved by the directors. The interval 
between the periodical payments shall not exceed three months. The borrower 
may prepay installments, and may then cease to pay till such prepayments are 
exhausted. Should a member have repaid 10 per cent of the amount advanced 
he may, in case of inability or distress, be allowed three months' postponement 
cf future payments; and for every additional 10 per cent he shall have repaid, 
he may be allowed a further postponement for three months. Should a member 
at any time desire to clear off the remaining debt upon his property before the 
expiration of the time originally fixed, he may do so by giving notice in writing 
to the association of his desire two calendar months at least before the d te of 
the proposed redemption. The terms on which prepayments and redemption of 
installments, and postponements may be made shall be fixed by the directors. 



COOPERATION" AND THE COST OF LIVING. 161 

4 7. KEEPING OF ACCOUNTS. 

The mode adopted in keeping the accounts of repayment as between the 
member and the association shall be as follows: The member shall be charged 
with the amount advanced and interest thereon to the Tuesday following 
the first Saturday of the months of March or September, on which date he 
shall be credited with all contributions which he shall have paid, and the 
balance shall be carried forward against him ; he shall then be debited with 
interest on such balance until the Tuesday following the first Saturday of the 
months of March or September, and on said last-mentioned date again credited 
with the contributions he shall have paid during the half-year ; and this process 
shall be repeated until the entire amount is repaid. In the calculation of such 
interest all fractions of a pound shall be reckoned as a complete pound. Inter- 
est shall be charged at the same rate as the association is from time to time 
paying on share capital. The present rate of interest is 4 per cent per annum. 

4 8. PAYMENT OF FEU DUTY, ETC. 

Every person to whom an advance of money shall have been made, on the 
security of any land or building which is subject to the payment of any yearly 
or half-yearly feu duty, ground or chief rent, or other annual charge, shall, 
whenever required so to do, furnish to the secretary of the association for the 
time being a receipt or voucher, showing that the said payments have been 
duly made; and if the said receipt or voucher shall not have been produced as 
required, the secretary shall ascertain from the person entitled to receive the 
said feu duty, ground or chief rent, or other payments, whether they have 
been duly received, and if not then he shall forthwith pay the same out of the 
funds of the association, and the amount thereof shall be debited to the account 
of the person to whom the advance has been made, together with a fine of 5 
shillings, and any other reasonable expenses to which the secretary, in the 
payment thereof, shall have been subject, by reason either of the nonproduction 
of the receipt, or the nonpayment of the said feu duty or rent charge. 

49. INSURANCE. 

All property held in security by the association shall be insured by the direc- 
tors, in the name of the association, the premiums and other charges of 
which shall be paid by the member whose property is thus insured. 

50. FINES. 

Any number who has received a loan from the association and neglects to 
pay the installments due on such loan, according to the provisions of the fore- 
going rules, shall be fined for such neglect, as follows : For every pound sterling, 
or part of a pound, due on such installment at the end of the half-year, when 
the accounts are made up, a fine of 6d. shall be enforced, which shall be added 
to such member's account, and shall be considered a debt due by such member 
to the association. 

51. POWER TO EVICT AND TAKE POSSESSION. 

(Clause a) In the event of any member failing to pay his installments for a 
period of three months he shall be notified in writing by the secretary of his 
arrears ; and should he still fail to pay, the board of directors shall have power, 
on the expiry of three months from the date of such notice, to evict such mem- 
ber by legal process and take immediate possession of his property, repair the 
same, if deemed advisable, and dispose of the same according to law, the cost 
of such eviction and sale and whole relative proceedings to be charged to, and 
payable by, the borrower in his account with the association. 

(Clause o) If a member be evicted under the powers aforesaid, and the prop- 
erty taken over by the association does not realize the amount in which the 
said member is indebted, including all interest and fines on the account due to 
The association, aud all expenses incurred by the association as aforesaid, the 
difference between the amount so realized and the amount owing shall be a 
debt due from the said member to the association, and may be enforced against 
such member by ordinary process of law ; but if the amount realized be more 
than the amount owing, the free balance shall be paid to such member, without 
interest within six calendar months of such sale. 

34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 11 



162 



COOPEKATTON AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



Schedule D. — Application for an advance. 
[St. Cuthbert's Cooperative Association Ltd.] 

To the directors: 

Gentlemen : I, the undersigned (being desirous of purchasing) or (having 

purchased) property at hereby apply for an advance of £ on the 

security of said property. Said advance to be repaid by monthly installments 
in accordance with table No. — in the rules of said association. 

(Signature of applicant) 

(Profession or occupation) 

(Address) 



Table No. 1. — Showing in what time £100 can be repaid, with interest, by a 
fixed payment at the rate of 17s. lOd. per calendar month, in monthly 
installments. 



Year from date of borrowing. 


Payments 
required in 

monthly 
installments. 


Amount 

charged for 

interest. 


Principal 
repaid. 


Balance 
owing at end 
of each year. 




£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 
100 


First 


10 14 
10 14 
10 14 
10 14 
10 14 
10 14 
10 14 
10 14 
10 14 
10 14 
10 14 
10 6 


4 
3 15 3 
3 9 7 
3 4 
2 17 7 
2 11 3 
2 4 9 
1 18 5 
1 11 2 
14 
16 
8 


6 14 

6 18 9 

7 4 5 
7 10 

7 16 5 

8 2 9 
8 9 3 

8 15 7 

9 2 10 
9 10 
9 18 
9 18 


93 6 


Second 


86 7 3 


Third 


79 2 10 




71 12 10 


Fifth 


63 16 5 


Sixth 


55 13 8 




47 4 5 


Eighth 


38 8 10 


Ninth 


29 6 


Tenth 


19 16 


Eleventh 


9 18 


Twelfth 










Payments according to the foregoing table would leave £9 18s. owing at the end of the 
eleventh year from the date of borrowing. 



Table No. 2. — Showing in what time £100 can be repaid, with interest, by a 
fixed payment at the rate of 16s. 9d. per calendar month, in monthly 
installments. 



Year from date of borrowing. 


Payments 
required in 

monthly 
installments. 


Amount 

charged for 

interest. 


Principal 
repaid. 


Balance 
owing at end 
of each year. 




£ s. d. 


£ 5. d. 


£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 
100 


First 


10 1 
10 1 
10 1 
10 1 
10 1 
10 1 
10 1 
10 1 
10 1 
10 1 
10 1 
10 1 
9 15 3 


4 
3 15 3 
3 10 5 
3 5 7 
3 
2 14 5 
2 8 
2 2 4 
1 16 
19 8 
12 4 
15 3 
8 


6 10 
6 5 9 
6 10 7 

6 15 5 

7 1 
7 6 7 
7 13 

7 18 8 

8 5 
8 11 4 

8 18 8 

9 5 9 
9 7 3 


93 19 


Second 


87 13 3 


Third 


81 2 8 


Fourth 


74 7 3 


Fifth 


67 6 3 


Sixth 


59 19 8 


Seventh 


52 6 8 


Eighth 


44 8 


Ninth 


36 3 


Tenth 


27 11 8 


Eleventh 


18 13 


Twelfth 


9 7 3 


Thirteenth 










Payments according to the foregoing table would leave £9 7s. 3d. owing at the end of 
the twelfth year from the date of borrowing. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 



163 



Table No. 3. — Showing in what time £100 can be repaid, with interest, bqj 
a fixed payment at the rate of 15s. lOd. per calendar month, in monthly 
installments. 



Year from date of borrowing. 


Payments 
required in 

monthly 
installments. 


Amount 

charged for 

interest. 


Principal 
repaid. 


Balance 
owing at end 
of each year. 




£ $. d. 


£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 
100 


First 


9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 3 8 


4 
3 16 
3 11 3 
3 6 5 
3 17 
2 16 9 
2 11 3 
2 5 7 
2 
1 13 7 
18 
117 
14 5 
7 3 


5 10 
5 14 

5 18 9 

6 3 7 
6 8 5 
6 13 3 

6 18 9 

7 4 5 
7 10 

7 16 5 

8 2 
8 8 5 
8 15 7 
8 16 5 


94 10 




88 16 


Third 


82 17 3 


Fourth 


76 13 8 


F if th 


70 5 3 


Sixth 


63 12 


Seventh 


56 13 3 


Eighth 


49 8 10 


Ninth 


41 18 10 


Tenth 


34 2 5 


Eleventh 


26 5 


Twelfth - 


17 12 


Thirteenth 


8 16 5 


Fourteenth 










Payments according to the foregoing table would leave £8 16s. 5d. owing at the end of the thirteenth year 
from the date of borrowing. 



Table No. 4. — Showing in what time £100 can be repaid, with interest, by 
a fixed payment at the rate of 15s. Id. per calendar month, in monthly 
installments. 



Year from date of borrowing. 


Payments 
required in 

monthly 
installments. 


Amount 

charged for 

interest. 


Principal 
repaid. 


Balance 
owing at end 
of each year. 




£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 


£ s. d. 
100 


First 


9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
9 10 
8 5 3 


4 
3 16 
3 12 
3 8 
3 3 3 
2 18 5 
2 13 7 
2 8 9 
2 3 3 
1 17 7 
1 12 
16 5 
10 
13 7 
6 5 


5 10 
5 5 
5 9 
5 13 

5 17 9 

6 2 7 
6 7 5 
6 12 3 

6 17 9 

7 3 5 
7 9 

7 14 7 

8 10 
8 7 5 
7 18 10 


94 19 


Second 


89 14 


Third 


84 5 


Fourth 


78 12 


Fifth 


72 14 3 


Sixth... 


66 11 8 


Seventh 


60 4 3 


Eighth. 


53 12 


Ninth 


46 14 3 


Tenth .• 


39 10 10 


Eleventh 


32 1 10 


Twelfth 


24 7 3 


Thirteenth 


16 6 3 


Fourteenth 


7 18 10 


Fifteenth 










Payments according to the foregoing table would leave £7 18s. lOd. owing at the end of the fourteenth year 
from the date of borrowing. 



164 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



Table No. 5. — Showing in what time £100 can be repaid, with interest, by 
a fixed payment at the rate of 13s. 9d. per calendar month, m monthly 
installments. 



Year from date of borrowing. 


Payments 
required in 

monthly 
installments. 


Amount 

charged for 

interest. 


Principal 
repaid. 


Balance 
owing at end 
of each year. 




£ 5. d. 


£ s. d. 


£ s. 


d. 


£ s. d. 
100 


First 


8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
8 5 
7 18 5 


4 
3 16 10 
3 13 7 
3 9 7 
3 5 8 
3 2 4 
2 17 8 
2 13 7 
2 8 9 
2 4 10 
2 
1 14 5 
19 7 
14 
18 5 
12 9 
6 5 


4 5 
4 8 
4 11 
4 15 

4 19 

5 2 
5 7 
5 11 

5 16 

6 
6 5 
6 10 

6 15 

7 1 
7 6 
7 12 
7 12 



2 
5 
5 
4 
8 
4 
5 
3 
2 

7 
5 

7 
3 



95 15 


Second 


91 6 10 


Third 


86 15 5 


Fourth 


82 


Fifth 


77 8 


Sixth 


71 18 


Seventh 


66 10 8 


Eighth 


60 19 3 


Ninth : 


55 3 


Tenth 


49 2 10 


Eleventh 


42 17 10 


Twelfth 


36 7 3 


Thirteenth 


29 11 10 


Fourteenth 


22 10 10 


Fifteenth 


15 4 3 


Sixteenth 


7 12 


Seventeenth 










Payments according to the foregoing table would leave £7 12s. owing at the end of the sixteenth year from 
the date of borrowing. 



Table No. 6. — Showing in what time £100 can be repaid, with interest, by 
a fixed payment at the rate of 12s. 9d. per calendar month, in monthly 
installments. 



Year from date of borrowing. 



Payments 
required in 

monthly 
installments. 



Amount 

charged for 

interest. 



Principal 
repaid. 



Balance 
owing at end 
of each year. 



£ s. 



First 

Second 

Third 

Fourth 

Fifth 

Sixth 

Seventh 

Eighth 

Ninth 

Tenth 

Eleventh. . . . 

Twelfth 

Thirteenth. . 
Fourteenth . 
Fifteenth . . . 
Sixteenth . . 
Seventeenth 
Eighteenth . 
Nineteenth . 



13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
13 
2 



£ s. d. 




17 

14 
11 







4 
3 

8 
4 9 
10 
17 7 
13 7 
9 
5 
1 



7 
7 

16 10 
12 



16 
11 
5 



£ s. d. 



13 

15 

18 

1 

5 

8 

12 

15 

19 

3 

7 

11 

16 

1 

5 



6 10 
6 16 



1 
17 



£ 

100 

96 7 

92 11 

88 13 

84 11 

80 6 

75 18 

71 5 

66 10 

61 11 



s. d. 





3 
3 


10 
5 

8 
3 

10 



56 

51 

45 

39 12 8 

33 11 8 



27 5 

20 15 

13 19 

6 17 





10 
3 

3 




Payments according to the foregoing table would leave £6 17s. 3d. owing at the end of the eighteenth year 
from the date of borrowing. 



COOPERATION" AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



165 



Table No. 7. — Showmg in what time £100 can be repaid, with interest, by a 
fixed payment of the rate of lis. lid. per calendar month, in monthly install- 
ments. 



Year from date of borrowing. 



First 

Second 

Third 

Fourth 

Fifth 

Sixth 

Seventh 

Eighth 

Ninth 

Tenth 

Eleventh 

Twelfth 

Thirteenth.. 
Fourteenth. 

Fifteenth 

Sixteenth . . . 
Seventeenth 
Eighteenth.. 
Nineteenth. . 
Twentieth . . 
Twenty-first 



Payments 

required in 

monthly 

installments. 



d. 







Amount 

charged for 

interest. 



£ s. 





17 8 

15 2 

12 10 



10 
17 7 



4 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 10 

16 

11 2 

5 7 



13 

10 

6 

2 

18 

14 

10 

5 



Principal 
repaid. 



3 

5 

7 

10 
13 



15 10 
19 



2 
5 
9 

12 

IB 



4 

8 

12 

17 

2 

7 



11 10 
14 5 



Balance 
owing at end 
of each year. 



£ s. 

100 

96 17 

93 11 

90 3 

86 13 

83 



79 
75 
71 



13 
6 




d. 





8 
10 
8 
3 
5 
5 
3 

66 17 10 
62 8 5 
57 15 10 
52 19 3 
47 18 8 
42 14 
37 5 5 
31 12 10 
25 15 5 
19 13 3 
6 3 
14 5 




Payments according to the foregoing table clear off the £100 at the end of the twenty-first year. 

James B. Bennet, Member, 

John Wilson, Member. 

James Law, Member. 

Chas. W. MacPherson, Secretary. 



Register No., 1 Edinburgh. 



Complete amendment. 



acknowledgment of registry of amendment of rules. 

The foregoing amendment of the rules of the St. Cuthbert's Cooperative Asso- 
ciation (Ltd.) is registered under the industrial and provident societies act, 
1893, this 7th day of October, 1909. 

R. Addison Smith, 
Assistant Registrar for Scotland. 
Copy kept. 



FORM OF APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO MEMBERSHIP. 

The directors of St. Cuthbert's Cooperative Association (Ltd.). 

Gentlemen : Having purchased a copy of the rules of your association, I 
hereby request to be admitted a member thereof; and in the event of my being 
approved of by you and becoming a member of said association, I hereby bind 
myself to conform to all the rules and regulations thereof. 



(Date) 



(Name in full) 

(Profession or occupation) 
(Address) 



NOTICE TO MEMBERS. 



Interest on shares. — Shares shall not begin to bear interest till the commence- 
ment of the quarter succeeding the one in which they are paid up. Our quar- 
ters end on the Tuesday following the first Saturday of March, June, Septem- 
ber, and December. 



166 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

No. No. 2. 

ST. CUTHBEET'S COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION (LTD.). 

Share capital paid: 
2 Pounds, 2 Shillings stg. 
Rules 
To the committee of management. 

Gentlemen : Having purchased a copy of the rules of your society, I hereby 
request to be admitted a member thereof, and, in the event of my being ap- 
proved of by you and becoming a member of said society, I hereby bind myself 
to conform to all the rules and regulations thereof. 

(Name in full) 

(If female, state whether married, widow, or spinster) 

(Profession or occupation) 

(Address) 

Date, , 19 . 



NO. 3, ORDER FOR PASS BOOK. 

Share ledger No., . 

Name in full, . 

Address, . 

Branch shop, . 

, 190 . 

Gentlemen : Please forward me a pass book in order that I may get credit 
in your shops, and you might give instructions to your branch cashiers to issue 
from time to time, when necessary, a new pass book. 

I will take proper care of the book issued from time to time, produce it when 
called upon to do so, and be responsible for all goods received by the person 
presenting same at any of your shops and getting credit thereon until I com- 
municate with you in writing to the contrary. 

Yours, respectfully, . 

To. St. Cuthbert's Cooperative Association (Ltd.), 

92 Fountain or idge, Edinburgh. 

Note. — Should pass book be lost, members should intimate the fact at once in writing 
to office and branch shop. 



(Inclosure No. 4 is a map of Edinburgh. Not printed.) 



SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

There are in this consular district 24 cooperative societies with an aggregate 
membership of 107,657 and a total sales for the last six months of half a million 
pounds sterling. 

INCEPTION AND GROWTH. 

The inception of these societies were all practically the same ; that is, a num- 
ber of men hoped that by clubbing together they might be able to buy wholesale 
and thus eliminate the profits of the middleman. Of course, those societies that 
have started in recent years have adopted from the beginning the system now 
known as the Rochdale, and have thus practically come into existence as full- 
blown cooperative societies rather than through the growing medium of trad- 
ing clubs. 

There is an annual increase of about 6 per cent in membership and about 10 
per ceut in sales. The investment account, aside from fixtures and stock, shows 
an increase of about 16f per cent on the increase of sales. For instance, in a 
company of 25,000 members the increase in cash sales for the half year 
amounted to £30,386. The investment account (aside from stock and fixtures) 
was increased from £98,531 to £103,562, hence the statement that the aggregate 
cooperative societies of this district have an independent investment of £400,000 
and are increasing it at the rate of £40,000 per year. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



167 



ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION. 

The organization consists of members, controlling boards, and employed 
officials. 

A person becomes a member by the payment of Is. 6d. for a share book and 
number, and is then entitled to the privileges of a member, which consists in 
the trading advantages and a vote in the election of the members of the con- 
trolling board. Pecuniarily, the members receive full dividend on all purchases 
and on all capital shares (full value £5) ; they are paid 5 per cent interest. 

The members elect the committee of management, which consists of a presi- 
dent, financial secretary, and 12 committeemen, who hold office for one year, 
and during that time conduct the business of the society. These committeemen 
receive for their service a very nominal fee. In turn the committee of manage- 
ment employ such practical men as may be necessary to conduct the buying 
and selling end of the business. 

The " climax " check system is the one most commonly used in recording the 
purchases. The member makes a purchase, tells the shopman the number of 
his or her share book, and obtains from him a paper check bearing that number 
with the amount of the purchase. This check is made in triplicate. The 
original is held by the branch shop making the sale as a check on its stock. 
The duplicate is sent into the central office and from it the purchase amount re- 
corded to the credit of the member. The triplicate is taken by the member and 
offered as evidence of the amount of his trade, and on these purchases the com- 
pany declares a dividend, varying from 2s. 4d. to 2s. 6d. in the pound. 

DISTRIBUTION OF DOMESTIC SUPPLIES. 

The ultimate consumer orders from the cooperative stores and pays cash for 
them, *and they are delivered on a certain specified day in the week by the com- 
pany's vans. 

DEGREE TO WHICH THE COOPERATIVE STORES REDUCE THE COST OF LIVING. 

The advantage claimed by the various societies is not that they sell cheaper 
than other stores, but that they pay a dividend of 2s. 6d., or thereabouts, on 
every pound purchased. This, to a certain class of people, appears large and 
enticing, but practically it merely amounts to a 12| per cent drawback. 

The cooperative stores state that their method of trading is not to cut prices, 
but to sell the best quality at the same retail prices as do the best standard 
business houses in their locality, and then their alleged advantage is that they 
return to their members the net profit in the form of a dividend. One society 
states that experience has shown them that it is better to even be a little higher 
than the open market and still be able to maintain the 2s. 6d. dividend in the 
pound. 

Now, as to whether this drawback is an advantage or not depends entirely 
upon the prices paid in the cooperative stores as compared with the prices asked 
in the open market. 

In many lines it is impossible to make comparisons as goods are sold under 
trade names, and the question of quality arises, as for instance, soap, flour, teas, 
etc., sold in the cooperative stores are of a special brand, not offered in the 
open market, and the difference in price may. justly be attributed to superiority 
in quality, but there are, however, certain staple goods whereby comparisons 
may be made, as for instance — 



Cooperative 
price. 



Open-mar- 
ket price. 



Over 
profit. 



Sugar (lump or granulated) per pound. . 

Shreaded wheat do — 

Quaker oats per 2-pound packet. . 

Potatoes per 20 pounds. . 

Haricot beans per stone. . 

Rice per pound. . 



s. d. 

H 

7 

6 

1 

2 11 
3 



s. d. 
3 

6* 
5* 
10 

2 4 
2 



Per cent. 



8 

8 

9 

20 

25 

50 



On the above six articles there is an average profit of 20 per cent over and 
above the profit made by retailer in the open market. 



168 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 

It lias recently been decreed by several of the stores in this district that in 
the future the 5 per cent paid on capital stock shall only be paid to those mem- 
bers who trade up to £8 per share per year. Members not trading up to that 
amount are to receive 3£ per cent interest on their capital stock, hence it may 
be said that the 1^ per cent bonus interest is a premium incentive to trade, 
which, added to the 12^ per cent drawback, makes a 14 per cent refund as 
against a 20 per cent excess charge over open-market prices. The above at 
least is true in certain lines where comparisons are possible, and in no lines 
do they undersell the open trade. 

ATTITUDE BETWEEN NONCOOPEEATIVE AND COOPERATIVE STORES. 

Inasmuch as the cooperative stores do not cut prices there is no surface 
evidence of hostility. The cooperative companies regard themselves as a so- 
ciety, and cater, not for outside trade, but rather for new members. When 
once they have the member his trade is assured. The noncooperative stores 
look on the society members as beyond their reach, except in those lines not 
handled by the cooperative stores. 

COOPERATIVE PURCHASES. 

When they purchase from independent producers, wholesalers, or jobbers, 
tiiey of course pay the market price. When they buy of the cooperative whole- 
sale society the goods are largely " special brand " and at special prices, and 
then each company receives a rebate from the wholesale society in proportion 
to the capital stock which they hold in the wholesale cooperative organization. 

Rice K. Evans, Vice Consul. 
Sheffield, England, November 20, 1911. 



DUNFERMLINE, SCOTLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

The Dunfermline Cooperative Society was formed in January, 1861. During 
the first year of the society's existence the business represented transactions to 
the value of from $30,000 to $35,000, and since that time there has been a 
steady growth until the volume of business now amounts to somewhat over 
$1,500,000 yearly and the membership numbers 8,000 in the Dunfermline branch 
alone, while Kirkcaldy and Dysart, in this consular district, represents a mem- 
bership of over 14,000 with a relatively large volume of transactions. 

The methods of organization and operation consists of a committee, usually of 
workingmen, who employ a secretary and treasurer and agents or managers 
of the head and branch shops, who have charge of the distribution and delivery 
of domestic supplies usually to shareholders or number holders, though sales 
aie made also in the ordinary retail way to others not number holders. A 
vegetable or truck farm and a dairy farm are managed in the same way, while 
bakeshops, meat, grocery, and general goods of nearly all descriptions are re- 
tailed either from separate stores, each under its distinctive head, or from a 
larger general store on the order of the department stores in the States. 

The attitude of private shopkeepers toward cooperative shops is becoming 
more friendly, and retailers and wholesalers now tolerate these society shops 
more than in the past, though they claim that such combinations tend to cause 
vacant stores, higher taxes, and less rents to shop owners, thereby causing less 
demand and fewer buildings. 

The cooperative stores are patronized in this district almost entirely by the 
working classes, the advantages to miners and weavers working for low wages 
being that dividends or bonuses are declared during the rent-paying terms of 
Whitsunday and Martinmas, and these dividends induce thrift and savings that 
heretofore usually improvident classes have been apt to neglect. When the 
cooperative society was first organized, one of the fundamental ideas was to buy 
goods through cooperation and combination at less than the then prevailing 
prices and thus reduce the cost of living, but since then, so I have been informed, 
the general purpose of those in charge 4s to help to create the biggest dividends, 
so as to show increase and encouragement to shareholders. The results seem 
to be from observation here that the price of goods in these cooperative shops 
are not on an average cheaper than those at the privately kept competitive 
shops, while the grade does not seem to appeal to the middle or higher classes, 
who continue to make their purchases from other than cooperative shops. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 169 

Yet with the large working population in this district the cooperative societies 
appear to be in extensive and growing favor and popularity as the yearly 
statements and numerous branches throughout the district attest. The societies 
here purchase their supplies almost entirely through the Scottish Cooperative 
Society, whose exact knowledge of the needs of their consuming shareholders 
gives an advantage in wholesale sales that helps toward the society's success. 
The cooperative societies are competing among themselves for trade under 
different wholesale headquarters, the results, except dividends to the small 
stockholders, being on the order of the department or branch store system in 
the States. 

The cost of living has increased since these societies were instituted, yet this 
general economic condition should not be charged to cooperation, while the 
fact seems to be that their advent into trade competition at first materially 
reduced the price of commodities, though the keen desire for dividends has not 
been latterly so beneficial, and the result has been the closing out of many small 
shop keepers who could not stand the pressure of combination. 

H. D. Vansant, Consul. 
Dunfermline, Scotland, November 21, 1911. 



HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

[Report transmitted in response to the Department's Special Instruction No. 66, dated 

October 12, 1911 (File No. 165060).] 

The flood of information to be obtained upon this subject makes it very diffi- 
cult to give any concise statement affording even a general idea of the situation. 
There are three types of cooperative enterprises in this district. There are : 

(1) Sixty societies all organized after the plan of the Rochdale system of 
paying dividends to members according to the amount of purchases, the object 
of which generally is to carry on trade as general dealers in merchandise. 

(2) The Dairy Farmers Supply Co. (Ltd.), 11 Byram Street, Huddersfield, 
England (see p. 202), organized for the purpose of buying and distributing 
grain, cattle foods, machinery, and other supplies for farmers among its 
members. 

(3) Messrs. William Thomson & Sons (Ltd.), a copartnership productive en- 
terprise manufacturing woolen and worsted goods. (For full information see 
pp. 201 to 202.) 

Of the 60 cooperative societies within a radius of 5 to 10 miles of Hudders- 
field doing business on the Rochdale system, by far the most important is the 
Huddersfield Industrial Society (Ltd.) central stores, Buxton Road, Hudders- 
field, England. This society was established in 1860, celebrating its jubilee an- 
niversary in 1910. 

The following summary shows the extent and growth of the enterprise by 
giving the total value of the society's trading operations during the 50 years 
ended 1910 : Total sales, $50,817,326 ; total profits, $7,076,713 ; total depreciation 
allowed, $434,120; total contributions received, $4,320,848; total paid in with- 
drawals, including interest and dividend, $11,193,383. At the end of 50 years' 
trading operations the share capital of the society amounted to $932,611. The 
value of the society's buildings was $421,180, and the number of employees, 468. 
The number of grocery branches was 23, the butchering branches 20, drapery 
branches 4, dwelling houses 200, coal wagons 75, and horses 44. 

All of the 47 branch shops mentioned, in addition to the large central stores 
on Buxton Road, Huddersfield, are the property of the society, with the excep- 
tion of three butchering branches, which are held under lease. The dwelling 
houses are rented to tenants. A large number of houses have also been built 
by the society and sold to the members. 

Referring again to the trading operations of the society's various branches, 
the following table is given covering the quarter ended October 31, 1911, show- 
ing the various distributive enterprises, with the amount of sales made in 65 
departments : 

To sales: 

Grocery $336, 688 

Drapery 54, 110 

Coal 31, 179 

Shoe 10, 672 



170 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

To sales — Continued. 

Butchering $69, 072 

Butchering 69, 072 

Hides, skins, and tallow 6, 029 

Tailoring and outfitting 10, 686 

Confectionery 2,306 

Bakery 941 

Painting 2, 677 

Blacksmith 10 

Restaurant 7, 032 

Drug 3,348 

Laundry 5, 153 

Total sales 539, 903 

For further information in reference to the society's history, growth, and 
financial operations reference is made to the quarterly reports and balance 
sheets of the society for the year ended October 31, 1911, also to the annual re- 
turn for the year ended January 31, 1911 (inclosures herewith). 

PKODUCTIVE UNDERTAKING. 

The productive undertakings of the society include the following branches: 
Blacksmith, wheelwright, painting, boot, shoe, and clog, dressmaking and milli- 
nery, stocking knitting, cabinetmaking, tailoring, bread making, and confec- 
tionery, restaurant, drug, lard refinery and meat preparation, slaughtering. 
The total value of the productions for the year ended January 31, 1911 (whole- 
sale price), was $360,671. Average number of employees, 180; amount of 
wages paid, exclusive of bonus, $40,543; and the bonus to labor, $209. (See 
annual return herewith.) 

DISTRIBUTION. 

All of the 60 cooperative societies in this district are free to purchase goods 
in the open market. However, as there are dividends and certain other bene- 
fits to be derived by purchasing goods on the cooperative plan, about 80 per 
cent of the buying is done through the cooperative wholesale society of Man- 
chester. This society has a branch office and warehouse on Upperhead Row, 
in this town, and it is the custom of local societies to order goods through the 
branch office of the wholesale society. As a rule, however, goods are shipped 
direct from Manchester to the local society requiring them. 

ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION. 

For full information as to the organization and the methods of operation of 
cooperative societies reference is made to the copy of the rules of the Hudders- 
field Industrial Society (Ltd.) (pp. 175 to 188 herewith). Also to a synopsis 
of court decisions made in reference to the laws governing the organization and 
operation of industrial and provident societies in Great Britain. (See pp. 172 
to 175.) 

To be entitled to registration under the law referred to the society must con- 
sist of at least seven members, and send to the registrar of friendly societies 
an application signed by the seven members and the secretary, inclosing two 
printed copies of its rules. The registrar, if satisfied, issues an acknowledg- 
ment of the registry ; he can suspend and cancel the registration in the follow- 
ing cases : 

1. Reduction of membership below seven. 

2. Obtaining registry by fraud or mistake. 

3. Extinction of the society. 

4. Request of the society, properly evidenced. 

5. Existence for an illegal purpose, or violation of the provisions of the act 
willfully and after notice from the registrar. In this case the treasury must 
approve. 

Appeals lie to the high court from refusal to register or suspension or can- 
cellation. 

The rules of the society must not be contrary to law, and provide for the ap- 
propriation of the profits. Anyone who asks for a copy of the rules is entitled 
to it on demand. Every society must submit its accounts annually to audit, and 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 17 1 

send to the registrar of friendly societies an annual return vouched by the 
auditors, and supply it on demand to members. 

Upon registration the society becomes a body corporate with limited liability. 
It is exempt from income tax subject to certain limitations. 

Where the capital of a society is withdrawable the banking business is for- 
bidden. 

Societies, subject to their rules, may hold land on any tenure and make cer- 
tain specified investments, including deposits in certified savings banks or post- 
office savings banks, and lend to their members. Mortgages to the society are 
discharged by receipt indorsed. 

Officers in receipt of or in charge of money must, if required by the rules, 
give security for entering a true and just account. 

ORGANIZATION AND RULES OF HUDDERSFIELD INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY. 

The objects of this society as stated in the rules are to carry on trade of gen- 
eral dealers, both wholesale and retail ; also the industries of manufacturers, 
farmers, workers of mines, and minerals. The society shall have full powers 
to do all the things necessary and expedient for the accomplishment of all the 
acts specified above, including the power to purchase, hold, sell, mortgage, rent, 
lease, or sublease lands of any tenure, and to erect, pull down, repair, alter, or 
otherwise deal with any buildings thereon, and to do any other thing permitted 
by the industrial and provident societies act, 1893. 

The number of members is unlimited, but each member must own at least 
one share of $4.87 each. The capital of the society is raised in share subscrip- 
tions from members numbering on January 31, 1911, 14,924, with a share capital 
of $932,611. 

The society has power to borrow money and to make investments. The 
money coming to the society from share subscriptions has done away with the 
necessity of borrowing and frequently left a capital surplus on hand which the 
directors have found difficulty in finding a suitable place for investment. 

On July 31, 1911, the society's investments amounted to $338,889, being made 
in the form of the buying of shares in certain British industrial enterprises and 
of loans to other industrial concerns. The number of these investments is 37. 
(See quarterly report and balance sheet for quarter ended Oct. 31, 1911.) 

The management of the society is vested in a board consisting of a president 
and not more than 12 directors, elected by the members in the manner de- 
scribed in the rules. The president is elected annually. 

The directors have power to act for and in the society's name, and all acts 
and orders under the powers delegated to them have like force and effect as if 
they were the acts and orders of a majority of the members of the society at a 
general meeting thereof, subject to certain exceptions. (See rules.) 

The secretary of the society, who is subject to the same conditions as to 
qualification and removal as the board of directors, performs such duties as 
are required of him by the directors. (See rules.) 

BUILDING DEPARTMENT. 

The society may advance money to members on security of property. The 
conditions upon which the society operates a building and loan department for 
its members are fully described in the rules. 

In 1892 the society first took advantage of its power to conduct an educa- 
tional department in a systematic way. An educational committee was elected 
in 1893, and 1 per cent of the profits set apart annually as an educational 
fund. The yearly yield to the educational fund is $3,017. The committee has 
opened a public free reading room in Huddersfield and three branch reading 
rooms, also a lending library. Concerts and lecture courses are held. A chil- 
dren's class in " cooperation " is also conducted. Examinations are held. 

ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST THE COOPERATIVE SYSTEM. 

That the rise and growth of cooperative enterprises has given birth to a 
great deal of bitter controversy, especially as between the promoters and advo- 
cates of cooperation and independent dealers, is very forcibly attested by the 
reading matter herewith inclosed. (See Paper on Unemployment and Its Rela- 
tion to the Retail Trade and Cooperative Store Dealing, pp. 189 to 191.) 
Statement re cooperative societies, prepared by the secretary of the National 



172 COOPEKATICKN- AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

chamber of trade, Mr. S. T. Nicholson; address, 1 and 2 Posterngate, Hull 
England. (See pp. 189 to 191.) Extract from circular issued by the British 
National Chamber of Trade. (See pp. 193 to 194.) Also extracts from cir- 
cular in reference to insurance bill and cooperative societies. (See pp. 191 to 
192.) Also extracts from report of cooporative union on bribery and corrup- 
tion in cooperation. (See p. 197.) Also article on untaxed trading. (See pp. 
194 to 195.) 

Those who desire to study the merits of the controversy surrounding the 
cooperative movement are respectfully referred to the above literature. 

On behalf of cooperation the following claims are made, though only briefly 
stated here: That it has been a great factor in improving the social condition 
of the working classes; that it has abolished the evils of the credit system by 
introducing the practice of cash payments; it has encouraged habits of thrift; 
enabled many workingmen to become owners of their own dwelling houses; it 
has trained large numbers of artisans in business methods and in the manage- 
ment of industrial enterprises; it has supplied to consumers genuine and un- 
adulterated articles of food and clothing; raised the standard of living among 
workingmen; increased the stability of social order; and contributed to the 
well-being of the state. 

On behalf of the independent trader and the opponents of cooperative enter- 
prises all of these results are emphatically denied, and, among others, the fol- 
lowing claims made : That cooperative societies do not supply goods cheaper 
than the individual trader, but, in order to pay a dividend, charge on most goods 
higher prices than those at which they can be bought elsewhere; that they are 
undermining the independence of workingmen ; that, instead of producing thrift, 
they have a tendency to produce pauperism and unemployment; that the ulti- 
mate effect of cooperative trading is to eliminate individual enterprise; that, 
although these societies were originally intended to trade only with their own 
members and on cash terms only, there are now very few carrying out these 
principles. Credit is regularly given and tenders made for municipal and other 
contracts; that the exemption of cooperative enterprises from the burdens of 
certain provisions of the income tax is an unjust discrimination against the in- 
dividual trader; and that the administration of such societies has not always 
been honest. 

It has been pointed out to the writer that in the case of the Huddersfield 
Society a dividend of 73 cents in the pound ($4.86) given to members on pur- 
chases is based on the profits of all the departments, while, in fact, some de- 
partments make a larger dividend and some lower than the above amount. It is 
stated that the departments making more than 73 cents generally deal in gro- 
ceries, and therefore depend very largely upon the support of the ordinary 
laboring man making from $4.86 to $6.33 a week. It is contended, therefore, 
that the poorer classes are thereby compelled to contribute from their earn- 
ings to those members who are financially able to buy more extensively from 
other departments. 

For tables showing the prices for the necessaries of life, reference is here 
made to pages 197 to 199, Rise in British Food prices since 1898 ; Increased Cost 
of Living. Also table showing the prices of 16 necessary items of living ex- 
penses, as compiled by an officer of the Huddersfield Industrial Society (Ltd.) 
for 1816, 1895, and 1910. Prices stated for a good article (see p. 199). Also 
statement of comparative prices issued by William Cussons (Ltd.) and supplied 
to this office by the secretary of the British Chamber of Trade. A description 
of the organization and trade operations of William Cussons (Ltd.), a copart- 
nership enterprise, is also given. The Dairy Farmers' Supply Co. (Ltd.), a co- 
partnership enterprise among dairy farmers, is described on pages 202 to 203. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Fbederick I. Bright, 

Huddersfield, England. American Consul. 



Laws Regarding the Organization and Operation of Industrial and Provi- 
dent Societies in Great Britain. 

The law on this subject is now consolidated in the industrial and provident 
societies act, 1893 (56 and 57 Vict, c. 39), as amended (in so far as it relates 
to the island of Jersey in two small details) by an act of 1894 (57 and 58 
Vict., c. 8). The acts apply to all the British islands except the Isle of Man 
(1893, s. 2). , 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 173 

Incorporated societies existing on January 1, 1894, which had been registered 
or certified under prior acts as to industrial and provident societies, are treated 
as societies registered under the act of 1893, and their rules continue in force 
until altered or rescinded, so far as they do not contravene any express provi- 
sions of that act. Their original powers of altering their rules and binding 
existing members by the alterations seem unaffected by the repeal of the act of 
1855. (Cp. Smith v. Galloway, 1898, 1 Q. B., 71.) 

The societies which can be registered under the acts are those formed for 
carrying on any industry, business, or trade (wholesale or retail) specified in 
or authorized by its rules, including dealings of every description with land, 
whether copyhold, freehold, or leasehold. (1893, ss. 4, 79.) The purpose of 
the society must not be illegal. (1893, s. 9 (1) (c) ; see Swaine v. Wilson, 
1889, 24 Q. B. D., 252; Warburton v. Huddersfield Industrial Society (1892), 1 
Q. B., 817.) 

To be entitled to registration the society must consist of at least seven mem- 
bers and send to the registrar of friendly societies an application signed by 
seven members and the secretary and two printed copies of its rules. (1893, s. 
5 (1), 2.) A name (a name which must end with the word "limited" (s. 
5 (5), will not be registered which is likely to confuse the society with an- 
other or to mislead the members or the public (s. 5 (3). Change of name is 
allowed only by special resolution of the society, approved by the chief regis- 
trar (s. 52). 

Where a society carries on business in more than one part of the United 
Kingdom, it is registered in the country where its registered office is, but lodges 
copies of rules with the registrar in each country where it does business. (S. 
5, G.) 

The registrar, if satisfied, issues an acknowledgment of registry, which is 
conclusive of the fact of registry (ss. 6, 8) ; but he can suspend or cancel reg- 
istration (s. 9) in the following cases: 

(a) Reduction of membership below seven. 

(6) Obtaining registry by fraud or mistake. 

(c) Extinction of the society. 

(d) Request of the society properly evidenced. 

(e) Existence for an illegal purpose or violation of the provisions of the act 
willfully and after notice from the registrar. In this case the Treasury must 
approve. 

Appeals lie to the high court from refusal to register or suspension or can- 
cellation. (1893, c. 39, s. 9, 4.) 

Rules. — The rules must contain the provisions scheduled to the act, and can 
be amended validly under the powers reserved in the rules if the amendments 
are registered as not contrary to the act. They must provide for the appro- 
priation of the profits. Anyone who asks for a copy is entitled to it on demand 
and payment of not over 24 cents. ( Sec. 10. ) 

Duties. — Every society must have a registered office with its name affixed; 
must submit its accounts annually to audit, and send the registrar of friendly 
societies an annual return vouched by the auditors, and supply it on demand to 
members, and fix up a copy of its balance sheet in the office. ( Sees. 11-16, 20. ) 

It must also submit its books to inspection by its members, and in certain 
events to inspection and report by a person appointed by the chief registrar of 
friendly societies. (Sees. 17-18.) 

Privileges. — The society on registration becomes a body corporate with limited 
liability. (Sec. 21.) Persons over 16 may be members. (Sec. 32.) 

It is exempt from income tax under schedules C, D, subject to certain limi- 
tations (sec. 24) ; and members have power to transfer their interest, if not 
exceeding $487, by nomination, to take effect at death (sees. 25, 26), and special 
provisions are made as to death duties on small shares (sees. 27, 28), (and see 
Death Duties, Vol. IV), and property of lunatic members. (Sec. 29.) Where 
a society under section 29 paid over the balance of a lunatic member's account 
to his wife, and subsequently the guardians petitioned against the society for 
expenses of the lunatic member's removal to be paid out of the fund which had 
stood in his name, it was held that the transfer under section 29 to the wife 
was good, and that the petition failed. (Gloucester Guardians v. Gloucester 
Industrial and Cooperative Society (Ltd.), 1906, 70 J. P., 297; 4 L. G. R., 1087.) 
The society can also at its discretion distribute the property of intestate mem- 
bers. (Escritt v. Todmorden Cooperative Society (1896), 1 Q. B., 461.) A 
register of members is kept (sec. 34) ; and members are bound by the rules 
(sec. 22) and suable in the county court for debts due to the society. (Sec. 23.) 



174 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

And although the amount of the debt is beyond the county court jurisdiction, 
yet under section 23 the full amount may be recovered, though the debtor has 
ceased to be a member at the time of action brought. (Gwendolen Freehold 
Land Society v. Wicks (1904), 2 K. B., 622.) As to a society's lien on the 
shares of its members for debts and its rights to a set-off, even when in financial 
difficulties, see In re Gwawr-y-Gweithyr Industrial and Provident Society. 
(1901, 2 K. B., 477.) 

The contractual powers of the society are regulated by sections 33, 35, but 
banking business is forbidden in the case of a society with withdrawable 
capital, and even when allowed is subject to special regulations. (Sec. 19.) 

Property and funds. — Societies, subject to their rules, may hold land of any 
tenure, and make certain specified investments, including deposit in certified 
savings banks or post-office savings banks, and lend to their members. (Sees. 
36-42.) Mortgages to the society are discharged by receipt indorsed. (Sees. 
43^5.) Debentures issued by a society secured on personal chattels appear to 
be bills of sale. (G. N. Ry. Co. v. Coal Cooperative Society (1896), 1 Ch., 187.) 

Disputes with members or aggrieved and recent ex-members are settled by 
arbitration, under the rules of the society or by reference to the registrar of 
friendly societies, subject to an option to state a case for the high court. (Sec. 
49.) As to possible inconsistency between sections 6 (b) of the arbitration act, 
1889, and section 49 (5) of the provident and industrial societies act, 1893, 
see Jessop v. Huddersfield Industrial Society (1899, 80), L. T., 598. 

Inspection of the books and affairs of a soeiety may be ordered by the chief 
registrar upon the application of a sufficient number of members of the society 
(sec. 50), who may be required by the registrar to give security for the costs 
of the inspection. 

Amalgamation, etc. — Societies may be amalgamated with or transferred to 
other societies or converted into a company, or a company into a society, by 
special resolutions in the form prescribed by the act and registered at the 
central office of friendly societies. Such amalgamations do not affect the rights 
of creditors. ( Sees. 51-57. ) 

Dissolution is provided for by sections 58-61. These sections bring societies 
within the winding-up acts (see In re Ferndale Industrial Cooperative Society 
(1894), 1 Q. B., 828), which was not the case under prior statutes. (See In re 
London and Suburban Bank Co. (1892), 1 Ch., 604.) 

Officers. — Officers in receipt of or in charge of money must, if required by 
the rules, give' security for rendering a just and true account, and every servant 
of the society must on formal demand render proper accounts. (Sees. 47, 48.) 

Offenses. — Sections 62-70 deal with offenses by the society in noncompliance 
with the requirements of the act and by officers guilty of fraud, misappropria- 
tion, or falsification. The fine, except in the last two cases, must not exceed 
$24.33. All offenses are summarily punishable, subject to appeal to quarter 
sessions. 

Government powers. — The treasury may appoint public auditors, determine 
their remuneration, and fix the fees and make regulations as to registry and 
procedure. (Sees. 72-74.) 

These powers have been exercised by the issue of regulations, forms, etc., 
on January 1, 1894 ( St. R. and O. Rev. 1904, sub. tit. " Industrial and provi- 
dent society"), amended as to certain fees payable in advance for matters to 
be transacted and for the inspection of documents under the act by an order 
of December 31, 1906. (St. R. and O. 1906, p. 293.) As to the limits of the 
treasury's power, see Wilmot v. Grace (1892), 1 Q. B., 812. 

The working of the act and the societies to which it has been applied are 
stated in the annual reports of the registrar of friendly societies. (See Pari. 
Pap., 1907.) 

ULTRA VIBES. 

Friendly and industrial societies. — Friendly societies and industrial and 
provident societies afford further illustrations of the ultra vires doctrine in 
the rules defining the area of their activities. By the friendly societies act, 
1875, section 16 (9), any person wilfully applying any part of the property to 
purposes other than those expressed or directed in the rules is liable to a 
penalty of $97.33 and costs, or to repay all the moneys so misapplied. 

INCOME TAX. 

Industrial and provident societies. — A registered industrial and provident 
society is exempt from income tax under schedules C and D unless it sells to 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 175 

persons not members thereof; and the number of its shares is limited by its 
rules or practice. This does not exempt members or employees from assess- 
ment. (Vict., c. 39, s. 24.) 

Rules of the Huddersfield Industrial Society (Ltd.). 
standing orders to be observed at meetings. 

1. That whenever amendments are made upon original propositions no sec- 
ond amendment shall be taken into consideration until the first amendment 
is disposed of. 

2. That if a first amendment be carried it displaces the original question 
and becomes itself the question; whereupon any further amendment may be 
moved. 

3. That if the first amendment be negatived, then a second may be moved to 
the original question under consideration, but only one amendment shall be 
submitted to the meeting for discussion at one time. 

4. That the mover of every original resolution, but not of every amendment, 
shall have a right to reply to each amendment, immediately after which the 
question shall be put from the chair; but no other member shall be allowed 
to speak more than once on the same question unless permission be given to 
explain or the attention of the chair be called to a point of order. 

5. That upon any member rising to a point of order the speaker having 
possession of the chair shall at once resume his seat until the chairman has 
given his decision upon the point raised, which shall be given at once. 

6. That no member rising to ask a question shall add to the question any 
argumentative or other statement. 

7. A motion for adjournment shall take precedence of any other motion or 
amendment, and may be discussed, but the discussion upon it must be solely 
confined to reasons for or against adjournment. 

RULES (ALL PREVIOUS RULES RESCINDED). 

1. Name. — This society shall be called "The Huddersfield Industrial Soci- 
ety (Ltd.)." 

2. Objects. — The objects of this society are to carry on the trade of general 
dealers, both wholesale and retail; also the industries of manufacturers, 
farmers, and workers of mines and minerals. The society shall have full 
powers to do all things necessary or expedient for the accomplishment of all 
the acts specified above, including the power to purchase, hold, sell, mortgage, 
rent, lease, or sublease lands of any tenure, and to erect, pull down, repair, 
alter, or otherwise deal with any building thereon, and to do any other thing 
permitted by the industrial and provident societies act, 1893. 

3. Registered office. — The registered office of this society shall be No. 31 
Buxton Road, Huddersfield, in the West Riding of the County of York, or 
such other place as the directors shall from time to time appoint. And at 
such place all books of accounts, securities, and documents of the society other 
than such, if any, as are required for carrying on business on account of the 
same elsewhere, shall be kept. 

In the event of any change in the situation of the registered office, notice 
of such change shall be sent within 14 days thereafter to the registrar, in 
manner and form provided by the treasury regulation in that behalf. (Indus- 
trial and provident societies act, 1893, s. 11.) 

4. Admission of members. — (1) The society shall consist ef the present mem- 
bers and of all such other persons or societies as the directors may admit from 
time to time; but no person whose husband or wife is already a member shall 
be admitted a member of this society. Each applicant for admission shall 
sign a declaration of his readiness to take out at least one share and pay 24 
cents entrance fee (which shall be appropriated to the reduction of the value 
of fixed stock), together with 24 cents contribution toward his share. All 
persons wishing to become members must apply to the secretary or other per- 
sons appointed to receive applications. Any application for membership being 
refused, notice thereof shall be given to the applicant within 10 days of such 
refusal. 

(2) A minor, not under the age of 16 years, may be admitted as a member 
and execute all instruments and give all acquittances necessary to be exe- 
cuted or given under the rules, but may not be a member of the board of di- 
rectors or an officer of the society. 



176 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

(3) Each member shall have a card, with name, residence, and number writ- 
ten upon it, along with such directions as the directors may think desirable, 
together with a book of rules and an account of all subscriptions for shares, 
loans, bonuses, and interest, which book shall hold a correct debit and credit 
account of each member's transactions in relation to the funds corresponding to 
the ledger of the society. 

(4) In the event of a member's pass book being lost, he shall make per- 
sonal application at the registered office to be supplied with another, in which 
case an entry shall be made in a book, to be called "A record of lost pass 
books," and on signing the same he shall be entitled to have another on the pay- 
ment of 12 cents, with his share account entered in it as it stands in the books 
of the society. But the society shall not, previous to the issue of the new 
book, be responsible to any member, or persons claiming under a member, for 
any loss incurred through a payment of share capital to any person who pro- 
duces at the registered office the book alleged to be lost. A charge of 2 cents 
shall be made for renewing the card. 

(5) Any society or company registered by act of Parliament and whose 
shares are limited may become a member of the society on application to the 
board of directors and subject to their approval, on a written application, 
signed by the secretary and three members of the committee or board of di- 
rectors of such society or company. 

5. List of members. — A list of members' names and residences shall be kept at 
the registered office of the society, and no person shall be a member unless (or 
until) his name appears on this list; and the directors shall cause the names 
of all persons who under these rules cease to be members to be erased there- 
from ; and all notices required to be given or sent to members shall be deemed 
duly served by sending or posting the same, addressed to the member at his 
or her address in the above list. 

6. Notice of removal. — When any member shall change his residence, he 
shall, within one month thereafter, give notice thereof in writing to the sec- 
retary, who shall, on receiving such notice, make the requisite alteration in 
the list. Anyone neglecting to give such notice shall be fined 6 cents. 

7. Capital of society. — The capital of the society shall be raised in shares 
of $4.87, which shall not be transferable. No member, other than a registered 
society, shall, subject to such restrictions as shall from time to time be de- 
termined by a quarterly meeting, be entitled to an interest in the shares or 
funds of the society exceeding the sum of $973. 

8. Subscriptions. — Each member of the society must hold at least one 
share, which may be paid in full on entering the society or by installments of 
$1.22 per quarter. Any member, at any time, may pay up in one sum the bal- 
ance of his installments then due, or increase the amount of his installment. 
In default of such payments the directors shall have the power to inflict a 
fine of 6 cents per quarter, and if six months shall expire without contribu- 
tion, or adequate cause being shown, all moneys paid shall be forfeited at 
their discretion. 

9. Division of profits. — The profits of all business carried on by or on ac- 
count of the society shall be applied as follows : 

(1) In payment of the interest upon any loans or deposits. 

(2) In the reduction of the value of fixed stock and plant of the society, at 
such rate as provided by rule 20. 

(3) In payment of interest not exceeding 4£ per cent on all shares held by each 
member up to $121.66; and in case of a member holding more than $121.66, 
then at the following rate, viz, from $121.66 to $486.65, 3£ per cent, provided 
that the member's purchases from the society's stores for the quarter last ended 
shall have been not less than $19.47; but if his purchases are less than that 
sum he shall only be entitled to interest at the rate of 3 per cent on the whole 
of his shares. The interest shall commence and cease on the first day of each 
month, no interest being payable for any part of a month or fractional part of a 
pound. In ascertaining the amount of each member's purchases the number of 
checks brought in by such member in each quarter shall be the evidence to 
guide the society in the matter. The above rates of interest may hereafter be 
reduced by a quarterly or special meeting of members. 

(4) In promoting instruction, culture, or recreation by forming an educa- 
tional fund, to which 1 per cent of the net profits shall be carried. 

(5) In forming, by applying so much of the net profits as the ordinary busi- 
ness meetings determine, a reserve fund, to which all fines and forfeits under 
rule 8 shall be carried, applicable, by a resolution of the ordinary business 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 177 

meetings, on the proposal either of the directors or an individual member, and 
in regard to which notice has been given on the balance sheet — 

(a) To meet any contingency affecting the business of the society. 

(b) To any other purpose to which the general meetings may from time to 
time direct, whether such purpose be charitable, philanthropic, of public utility, 
or any other purpose which is not prohibited by the law of the land, but no part 
of the profits shall be devoted to any religious, political, or trade-union purpose. 

(6) The remainder of the profits shall be divided between — 
(a) The members of the society, in proportion to the amount of their pur- 
chases at the stores during the quarter. All interest and dividend not claimed 
within 14 days after the quarterly meeting shall be added to the member's share 
account. 

(6) The nonmembers who have made purchases of the society, according to 
the amount of their purchases, at such rate as the general meetings may deter- 
mine from time to time. 

10. Recovery of fines and debts. — If any fine or debt due by a member remain 
unpaid for one month the directors may, at their discretion, order the same to 
be deducted from such member's share and dividend account in the society ; and 
if there be not sufficient in these accounts to discharge the amount thereof the 
directors may order such member's name to be struck from the list of members, 
and he shall be taken to have withdrawn from the society for all intents and 
purposes from the time of such order ; and the balance owing by such member 
shall be immediately recoverable from him, his executors, administrators, or 
assigns, by legal process, as a debt due from him or them, or either of them, to 
the society ; and he shall not be again admitted except as a new member. 

11. Loans. — The directors, hereinafter mentioned, may obtain by way of loan 
from any person, whether or not a member of the society, for the purpose 
thereof, from time to time, on the security of bonds signed by three at least of 
the directors and countersigned by the secretary for the time being, such sum 
or sums of money as any special or general meeting of the members sanctions, 
not exceeding two-thirds of the amount of the declared capital of the society, 
at such rate of interest not exceeding 6 per cent, and subject to such provisions 
for repayment as are agreed at the time of advance. 

12. Savings bank deposits. — The directors may receive from any persons, 
whether members or not, on deposit, withdrawable on such notice — being not 
less than two clear days — as they fix from time to time, any sums within the 
total limit mentioned in rule 11 not exceeding $2.43 in any one payment nor 
$97.33 for any one depositor. No payment of any withdrawable capital shall 
be made while any claim due on account of any such deposit is unsatisfied. 

13. Repayment of loans and reduction of shares. — Should the directors have 
more cash on hand than they can profitably invest, they shall have power in 
the first place to repay all loans contracted under the 11th rule; and should 
they still have too much money, shall reduce the number of shares held by the 
members, the highest of those who purchase least from the society being first 
paid off. Members may allow their surplus cash to remain in the funds of the 
society after the time of notice has expired, but shall not receive interest 
thereon. All shares paid off to be extinguished. 

14. Reserve fund. — A reserve fund shall be formed, as provided in rule 9, 
and interest at the rate of 2\ per cent per annum shall be added to the fund 
quarterly. 

15. Insurance fund. — The directors may from time to time invest in any 
manner permitted by the rules of the society, or may appropriate out of any 
investment so made such amounts as are authorized by the quarterly meet- 
ings of the society to form a fund for insuring the buildings, fixtures, and stock 
against losses by fire or in transit by water ; also, for guaranteeing the fidelity of 
servants of the society. The income arising from all such investments or ap- 
propriations shall be carried to the account of the said insurance fund, and be 
from time to time similarly invested. 

The directors may, as they deem it advisable, insure any of the property 
of the society, wholly or in part, in the insurance fund, and thereupon shall 
pay to such insurance fund the premium which would otherwise be payable 
to some insurance company if therein insured to a similar amount. 

There shall not be anything taken at any time from the insurance fund (other 
than repayments of losses as above mentioned), except with the consent of two- 
thirds of the members present and voting at a quarterly or special meeting. 

34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 12 



178 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

16. Withdrawal of shares. — Members may withdraw any sum standing to 
their credit with the consent of the directors, or according to the following 
scale: Five shares on application (and at least one week to elapse between 
each payment) ; 5 to 10 shares, one week; 10 to 20 shares, two weeks; 20 to 
30 shares, three weeks; and so on, one week for every 10 shares. 

But the directors shall have the power to alter such scale, or suspend with- 
drawals, if, in their judgment, on an inspection of the accounts, the payment 
thereof would be prejudicial to the interests of the society or its creditors. 

Withdrawals can only be paid to the member personally on production of 
the share book and on his receipt, or to the bearer of the share book with an 
order signed by the member. If the member or other person acting on behalf 
of the member withdrawing be not known at the central office, it shall be com- 
petent for the secretary to require the production of a note of identification 
before payment is made. 

17. Withdrawal of members. — (1) A member may withdraw from the society 
on giving seven days' notice to the secretary, or with the consent of the directors. 
Upon withdrawal, such member shall receive payment of the amount standing 
to his credit in the books of the society, with all arrears of interest made up to 
the end of the month preceding such withdrawal, but subject to such deduc- 
tion as the society may from time to time direct, not exceeding 49 cents, such de- 
duction to go to the reduction of the value of fixed stock. But the withdrawal 
of members shall nevertheless be subject to the second clause of rule 16. 

(2) Any member may, on withdrawal, present at the registered office of the 
society any metallic checks which he may have in his possession, and he shall 
be entitled to receive dividend on such checks, such dividend to be 6d. (12 
cents) in the ($4.87) less than the dividend declared at the previous quarterly 
meeting; but the directors shall have power to withhold the amount of divi- 
dend paid to withdrawing members if circumstances justify their doing so. 

(3) No member shall be allowed to withdraw until the full amount of all 
claims due to the society from him shall have been previously paid, nor in 
case any action at law or dispute or loss be pending involving the funds or 
liabilities of the society. 

(4) The society shall have a lien on the shares of any member for any debt 
due to it by him and may set off any sum credited to the member thereon in or 
toward the payment of such debt. 

(5) A member withdrawing from the society shall give up his contribution 
book and card of membership. 

(6) If any member become bankrupt, or registered society, being a member, 
shall be wound up, the directors shall pay over to the trustees of the property 
of the said bankrupt member or society being wound up all shares standing to 
their credit upon the production, on the part of the trustees, of a legal au- 
thority to receive the said shares. 

(7) If a member become insane and no committee of his estate or trustee 
of his property has been duly appointed the directors may, when it is proved to 
their satisfaction that it is just and expedient so to do, pay the amount of his 
property in the society, not exceeding $486.65, to any person Avhom they shall 
judge proper to receive the same on his behalf. 

18. Joint membership. — Members may hold in their joint names shares to 
any amount not exceeding $973.30, subject to the restriction named in rule 7, 
and the receipt of either of them shall be a sufficient discharge for any interest 
payable thereon. On the decease of a joint holder of any share or shares, such 
share or shares shall be registered in the name of the survivor or survivors on 
his or their application, and for the purposes of ordinary, quarterly, or special 
general meetings only one of such joint holders shall be deemed to be a member. 
No joint holder of any shares shall be allowed to hold any shares in his or her 
separate name. 

19. Transmission of interest. — (1) Any member not being under the age of 
16 years may, by a writing under his hand delivered at or sent to the registered 
office of the society during his lifetime, or made in any book kept thereat, 
nominate any person or persons, other than an officer or servant of the society 
(unless such oificer or servant is the husband, wife, father, mother, child, 
brother, sister, nephew, or niece of the nominator), to or among whom his 
property in the society, whether in shares, loans, or deposits, or sc much 
thereof as is specified in such nomination if the nomination does not comprise 
the whole, shall be transferred at his decease, provided the amount credited to 
him in the books of the society does not then exceed 100 pounds ($486.65) ster- 
ling. A nomination so made may be revoked or varied by any similar document 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 179 

under the hand of the nominator delivered, sent, or made as aforesaid, but 
shall not be revocable or variable by the will of the nominator or any codicil 
thereto. 

(2) The society shall keep a book wherein the names of all persons so nomi- 
nated and of all revocations or variations, if any, of such nominations shall be 
regularly entered. A member shall pay for the entry of every nomination, 
revocation, or variation a few of 3 pence (6 cents). 

(3) On receiving satisfactory proof of the death of a nominator the directors 
of the society shall either transfer the property comprised in the nomination 
in the manner directed or pay to each person entitled thereunder the full value 
of his interest, unless the shares, if transferred as directed by the nominator, 
would raise the shares of any nominee in the society to an amount exceeding 
$973.30, or such smaller sum as may have been fixed by any ordinary general 
or special meeting of the society, in which case they shall pay him the value of 
such shares. 

(4) If any member entitled to an interest in the funds of the society, not ex- 
ceeding, in the whole, $486.65, dies intestate and without having made any 
nomination thereof then subsisting, the directors may, without letters of admin- 
istration, transfer or pay the same to or among such persons as appear to them, 
on such evidence as they deem satisfactory, to be by law entitled to the same, 
subject, if such property exceeds $389.32, to the obtaining from the commis- 
sioners of inland revenue of a receipt for the succession or legacy duty payable 
thereon, or a letter or certificate stating that no such duty is payable. Upon 
the death of any member who has an interest in the society exceeding $486.65, 
or transmitted by his will, his executors or administrators shall, so soon after 
his decease as is practicable, give to the secretary of the society a notice in 
writing, stating the death of such member, and the Christian name, surname, 
profession, or business of such legal representative, and specifying the nature 
of his interest or claim. And on the production (if the case requires) of the 
probate of the will of, or letters of administration to, such member, and of 
such evidence (if any) of his death as may be required by the directors, the 
directors shall either transfer the shares or other interest of the member speci- 
fied in such notice in the books of the society to his legal representative, or 
shall pay to him the sum which represents the full value thereof, and may make 
such transfer or payment at their discretion, unless the transfer would increase 
the interest of the transferee in the society to more than $973.30, or such smaller 
sum as may have been fixed by any ordinary general or special meeting of the 
society, in which case they shall make the payment in money. 

20. Reduction of fixed stock. — The fixed stock shall be reduced in the follow- 
ing manner, viz, not less than 10 per cent per annum on fixtures, 2\ per cent 
per annum on shops, warehouses, workshops, and dwelling houses, 20 per cent 
per annum on horses, carts, and coal wagons. The deductions shall be mad© 
quarterly off the nominal value of all fixed stock. The members shall have 
power by special vote in quarterly meeting assembled, to allow any additional 
or extra depreciation. 

21. Investments. — With the sanction of an ordinary business or special gen- 
eral meeting the directors may invest any part of the surplus capital of the 
society in advances to members on the security of real or leasehold property, 
at such rate of interest as may be agreed upon ; in purchasing the business of 
any other society or company in which its capital might be invested falling 
within the objects of the society, or in carrying on any such business in con- 
junction with any such society or company, or in any other way permitted by 
the industrial and provident societies act, 1893. 

22. Officers of the society. — (1) The management of this society shall, except 
as provided by rule 25, be vested in a board consisting of a president and not 
more than 12 directors, who shall be elected in the manner set forth in rule 23. 

(2) No servant employed by this society shall be eligible for election to any 
office touching the management of this society. Persons eligible to serve on the 
board of directors in this society shall have been members for at least 12 
months and have not less than $14.60 in the funds of the society. No person 
shall be eligible to serve as president who has not served on the board of 
directors for three years. 

(3) No member shall be eligible for the office of president or director who has 
a relative employed by the society, the word " relative " to be defined as mean- 
ing relations by marriage and blood relations, from cousins to the nearest 
relatives, nor who deals in any of the commodities sold by the society. 



180 COOPEEATION AND the cost of living. 

(4) No member of the board of this society shall be a director of any other 
distributive society within the area of this society's operations, nor of any 
productive society or company if he be a share or loan holder in such productive 
society or company. 

(5) If any member of the board become bankrupt, or if he participate or 
be concerued in the profits of any contract with the society, such director shall 
vacate his office. This rule, however, shall be subject to the following excep- 
tions, viz, no president or director shall vacate his office by reason of his being 
a member of any society or company which has entered into contracts with or 
'done any work for this society ; nevertheless he shall not vote in respect of such 
contract or work. 

(6) No member of the board shall be allowed to sit in committee or at a 
board meeting while any question is being considered affecting the interest or 
conduct of any relative of his or connection by marriage, nor shall he in any 
way interfere with the decision come to at such committee or board meeting. 

(7) All officers shall be eligible for reelection. 

(8) At any general meeting of the society the majority of the members pres- 
ent may assign to the directors or any other officers of the society such re- 
muneration as seems to them desirable. Notice of any proposed alteration to be 
given in accordance with rule 26. 

(9) No member shall serve on the board of directors who has been convicted 
of dishonesty or other immoral conduct in a court of justice; and if at any 
time the members are dissatisfied with the conduct of any director or directors. 
a quarterly or special general meeting shall have power to remove him or them 
and others shall be elected in their place for the remainder of the term, in 
accordance with clause 14 of rule 23, and that such accused officer or officers 
shall have seven clear days' notice in writing of such meeting and its objects; 
and all such general or special meetings shall have power to appoint a special 
committee to inquire into any subject they may think proper. 

(10) A secretary shall be appointed for each branch at the branch meetings, 
and shall serve for 18 months, who shall be subject to the same conditions as 
to qualification and removal as the board of directors. He shall take stock of 
the goods on hand at his store at the time of any alteration in prices, in accord- 
ance with instructions sent to him from the registered office of the society ; he 
shall also perform such other duties as may be required of him from time to 
time by the board of directors. 

(11) The directors and other officers of the society shall be indemnified from 
all loss or damage sustained by them or to which they may become liable 
through any act they may perform on behalf of the' society by the authority of 
the board or by the order of any general or special meeting. 

23. Election of officers. — (1) All members of this society, with the exceptions 
named in rule 32, shall be entitled to propose or second persons to serve as 
officers; such propositions to be on papers provided for that purpose, which 
may be obtained at the stores of the society, and must be delivered not later 
than 7 p. m. at the registered office of the society — in the case of president 21 
days previous to the quarterly meeting held in August, and in the case of direc- 
tors 21 days previous to the quarterly meetings held in February and August. 

(2) All propositions must be signed by the name and number of the proposer 
and seconder. Seven days shall be allowed for withdrawal of candidates, such 
withdrawals to be delivered in writing at the registered office of the society. A 
list of persons proposed shall be posted up in all the business places of the 
society 10 days before such meeting, and shall be advertised in one or more 
local papers and afterwards submitted to branch meetings hereinafter provided, 
and the candidates who obtain the highest number of votes shall be duly elected. 
Any member proposing a person for any office without his knowledge or con- 
sent shall, upon proof thereof, be fined $2.43. 

(3) No member shall be entitled to have his name on the list of candidates for 
election as president and director at the same time. Should any member be pro- 
posed for both offices at the same election he shall, within two days of the close 
of propositions, signify to the secretary for which office he intends to stand, and 
the secretary shall see that his name duly appears on the list of propositions for 
such office in accordance therewith. 

(4) The voting at the meetings in connection with the central and branch 
stores for officers shall be conducted by means of printed voting papers, and shall 
be taken from 7 to 9 p. m. on the Wednesday previous to the quarterly meetings 
in February and August. All voting papers must be marked in the meeting 
room. In the event of a member not being able to mark his ballot paper, the 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 181 

poll clerk, who shall be appointed by the board of directors, if satisfied of such 
inability, shall mark such paper at the member's request, according to his direc- 
tion. On personal application by any member producing his contribution book, 
or voucher for the same, the presiding officer shall issue a ballot paper to such 
member, and at the same time (with a stamp to be provided for the purpose) 
the poll clerk shall stamp such book or voucher as evidence of such issue to 
prevent duplicate voting. No proxy voting shall be allowed. 

(5) The secretary of the society shall call a meeting of the members of each 
store, such meeting to be convened by bills posted up at the stores of the society, 
giving seven clear days' notice. 

(6) The president shall be elected annually at the branch meetings in August 
by ballot. 

(7) The directors shall be elected by and from the whole of the members 
qualified as per rule 22, at the branch meetings in February and August, re- 
spectively, by ballot. The term of office for directors shall be 18 months. 

(8) At the first time of election after the registration of these rules the 
whole of the directors shall retire and 12 directors shall be elected, who shall 
retire in the following order : Four at the end of the first half-year, four at the 
end of the second half-year, and four at the end of the third half-year. The 
four directors receiving the highest number of votes to be elected for 18 months 
and the remaining eight directors to retire in 12 and 6 months, respectively, 
according to priority of votes. 

(9) Any member seeking election found to have canvassed any servant of the 
society, or to have been canvassing on the society's premises, or of having used 
undue influence upon any employee such member shall be disqualified and shall 
not be again eligible for a period of two years. 

(10) Any dispute arising out of the operation of this rule shall be referred 
to an arbitrator, who shall be appointed by the board, and who shall not be 
a director or in any way connected with the interests of the parties at variance. 
The arbitrator's decision shall be final. 

(11) At the branch meetings it shall be the first business of the meeting to 
appoint a chairman for the proper conduct of the business, in accordance with 
the rules. Such voting papers as may be spoiled or unused shall be inclosed in 
a sealed envelope, with a written statement of the number of voting papers 
unused; such statement to be signed by the chairman and poll clerk, and re- 
turned, along with the ballot box, to the secretary of the society not later than 
6 o'clock p. m. of the day following the meeting, and be by him handed to the 
scrutineers. 

(12) The expenses of meeting rooms (if any) for election purposes shall be 
borne by the society. 

(13) At the quarterly meetings in May and November five scrutineers shall 
be appointed who shall, on the night following the elections in August and 
February, along with the secretary of the society, examine the sealed register 
of votes for officers given at branch meetings, and shall, as soon as possible, 
declare the names of the members receiving the largest number of votes as duly 
elected, and the same shall also be announced by the chairman at the general 
meeting. The secretary shall provide such number of clerks as may be required 
to assist the scrutineers in counting the votes. No member who is a candidate 
for office shall be entitled to act as scrutineer at any election in which he is 
interested. 

(14) An officer of this society shall not be eligible to be nominated for any 
other office without first resigning his present office previous to nomination. 
Should any vacancy occur in the interval between one election and another in 
the office of president or director, the directors at the time being shall fill up the 
vacancy for the remainder of the term. 

24. Duties of the directors. — (1) The directors (of whom any seven shall form 
a quorum) shall in all things (except the educational department) act for and 
in the society's name, and all acts and orders under the power delegated to 
them shall have the like force and effect as if they were the acts and orders of a 
majority of the members of the society at a general meeting thereof, subject 
to the following exceptions only : No alterations in premises exceedings $2,433.25 
shall be made or new ones erected nor any business involving a large amount of 
capital shall be entered into without first obtaining the consent of a majority 
of the members present at a general or special meeting of the society. No busi- 
ness shall be transacted after 10 o'clock at night except by a vote of the ma- 
jority of the directors present 



182 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

(2) A director not present within 30 minutes of the commencement of any 
board or subcommittee meeting shall not receive an attendance mark for that 
meeting unless he was engaged on the society's business. If any member of the 
board of directors absent himself for four weeks in succession without a legiti- 
mate reason, the board shall declare his seat vacant. The directors shall have 
power to accept the resignation of any of their number. 

(3) The president or any two of the directors may call a special meeting of 
the board of directors by giving one clear day's notice in writing to the secre- 
tary, but at such special meeting no other business than that specified in the 
notice shall be taken into consideration. 

(4) The directors shall convene the quarterly meetings of the society and 
shall also cause the accounts of all business carried on on behalf of the society 
to be regularly entered in proper books. The directors shall have power to 
suspend the payment of withdrawals and receipt of contributions for a stated 
period during the balancing of the society's accounts ; and they shall cause a 
statement of the accounts of the society, with all the necessary vouchers, to be 
laid before the auditor or auditors at least 10 days before the quarterly 
general meeting. 

(5) The board of directors may form subcommittees, which shall elect their 
own chairmen and transact such business and perform such duties as it may 
think proper to intrust them with. No member shall serve more than two 
years consecutively on the same subcommittee. 

25. Educational committee. — The educational department of the society shall 
be administered by a committee of seven members, four to form a quorum, one 
to be elected by the board of directors from their own number, and six, who 
shall not be directors, at the quarterly meetings of the society in February and 
August, whose term of office shall be 18 months, two to retire each six months, 
the order of retirement to be decided as provided in the rule for election of 
directors. 

The educational committee shall be subject to the same conditions as to the 
proposition, qualification, and removal of the members as the board of directors. 

Should any extraordinary vacancy occur, it shall be filled up by the com- 
mittee for the remainder of the term. 

The educational committee shall be responsible to the general meetings of 
the society for the proper expenditure of the educational fund and shall make 
a report to each quarterly meeting. 

26. Meetings of the society. — (1) The general meetings of the society shall 
be held quarterly, in the months of February, May, August, and November, to 
receive the auditor or auditor's report of the profit or loss upon the quarter's 
transactions. 

(2) Ordinary general meetings shall be held on the third Wednesday in 
January, March, April, June, July, September, October, and December, at 7.30 
p. m., or on such other dates and hour as the directors shall deem expedient, 
subject to due notice being given of any change. The functions of these 
meetings shall be: 

(a) Appointing one delegate to district conference, one to the sectional con- 
ference of the cooperative union, and two to the quarterly meetings of the 
cooperative wholesale society, and receiving reports from the same. Any dele- 
gate appointed not to be eligible to attend a similar meeting for a period of 
two years. 

(b) For discussing the affairs of the society, making suggestions and recom- 
mendations for the guidance of the directors, and for explaining the rules and 
principles of the society ; but all or any of these meetings may be dispensed 
with by direction of any quarterly meeting, and if so dispensed with may, by 
similar directions, be at any time resumed. 

(3) No monthly meeting shall proceed to business unless at least 50 members 
of the society be present within 30 minutes of the time of meeting, or proceed 
with business after the meeting has reduced itself below 40. 

(4) Seven clear days' notice, by placard, which shall be posted up at all the 
society's stores (stating the business), shall be given for all monthly, special, 
or general meetings, and any business not announced on such placard shall not 
be entertained at such meeting. 

(5) The president shall have power to convene a special general meeting; 
on his refusal, three of the directors shall have power to do so ; if these refuse, 
then a requisition, signed by 50 of the members, stating the objects and resolu- 
tions to be proposed, and forwarded to the secretary, shall be sufficient authority 
for him to call a meeting, and he shall issue notices stating the object and 



COOPERATION" AND THE COST OF LIVING. 183 

resolutions in general, and the business transacted at such meetings shall be 
binding upon the members. 

(6) All questions shall be decided by vote, the majority binding the minority, 
unless the chairman rule that the decision is not according to these rules or 
the industrial and provident societies act, 1893. Each member shall have one 
vote only ; no proxies admissible. 

(7) Should there be an equality of votes, the chairman shall have a casting 
vote. 

(8) All votes shall be decided by show of hands unless one-third of the 
members present require a ballot, in which case the directors shall appoint the 
time and place. 

(9) Members may adjourn to any other place of meeting at such time as 
they may appoint, and of which seven days' notice shall be given by the 
secretary. Eeadjournments may be fixed without notice. 

(10) No general or special meeting shall proceed to business unless 80 mem- 
bers entitled to vote are present within half an hour of the time appointed; 
and in which case, if called by members, it shall stand absolutely adjourned; 
but if called otherwise, shall adjourn to the same time on that day week. 

(11) No person shall be admitted to any monthly, general, or special meeting 
of the society without showing his or her card of membership. 

(12) Any member having any proposition to submit to the consideration of 
the quarterly meeting shall send the same to the secretary 21 days previous to 
the general meeting, which proposition shall be printed and hung up in all the 
stores, asking for any amendments to the same, such amendments to be sent to 
the secretary 14 days previous to the said general meeting; all such propositions 
and amendments shall be printed on the balance sheet and notice calling the 
meeting. Notices shall be put in all the stores stating the last date on which 
propositions can be received. 

(13) The directors shall not have the power to nullify the proceedings of 
any properly constituted meeting of the society, but should they receive any 
information which would, in their judgment, render it unwise to carry out any 
resolution passed at such meeting, they shall at once convene another meeting 
and lay such information before the same. 

27. Duties of president. — The president shall act as chairman at all general, 
special, and board meetings of the society, or in case of his absence the officers 
and members present shall elect one from amongst themselves to act as chair- 
man on that occasion. The president or chairman acting in his absence shall 
sign the minutes of the proceedings at each of the society's meetings, and shall 
have the casting vote in addition to his own vote as a member. The president 
shall by virtue of his office be ex officio member of all subcommittees. 

28. Secretary. — The secretary shall, before taking upon himself the execu- 
tion of his office, give such security as the directors may determine. He shall 
give his attendance at all meetings of the society and of the board of directors 
(if required), summon all special meetings of the directors, and record cor- 
rectly the names of the said directors there present and the minutes of their 
proceedings, which he shall transcribe into a book, to be authenticated by the 
signature of the chairman as the proceedings of the meetings; he shall counter- 
sign all contracts, and shall on all occasions in the execution of his office, act 
under the superintendence, control, and direction of the said directors. A 
minute secretary may at any time be appointed by the directors. All checks 
on the society's bankers shall be signed by such persons or person as the 
directors may from time to time appoint. 

It shall be the duty of every officer or servant of the society having receipt 
or charge of money, or his executors or administrators, at such times as the 
society or directors may direct to render account or to give in his account to 
be examined and allowed or disallowed by them, and shall on the like demand 
or notice pay over all moneys and deliver all property for the time being in his 
hands or custody to such person as the society or directors appoint. 

29. Auditors. — At the quarterly meeting held in February in each year the 
members shall elect two or more auditors, who shall examine all the books 
and accounts, invoices, vouchers, and securities of the business of the society, 
shall see that the books are properly kept, and report to the directors any 
alteration or improvement in the form of bookkeeping, and shall along with the 
secretary sign a balance sheet quarterly, which shall be printed and distributed 
amongst the members and submitted to the quarterly meetings for confirmation, 
at which meetings the auditors shall be present. 



184 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

If through death, -resignation, or any other cause a vacancy should occur 
the directors shall fill up such vacancy till the next general meeeting, when 
the members present shall confirm the appointment made by the directors or 
proceed to elect another in place thereof. 

30. Inspection of accounts. — Any member or person having an interest in the 
funds of the society may inspect the books and the names of the members at 
all reasonable hours at the registered office of the society or at any place where 
the same are kept, subject to such regulations as to the time and manner of 
such inspection as may be made from time to time by the directors of the 
society, except that no such member or person, unless he be an officer of the 
society or be specially authorized by a resolution thereof, shall have the right 
to inspect the loan or deposit account of any other member without his written 
consent. (See the act, sec. 17, 1, 2.) It shall be the duty of the secretary to 
produce the books for inspection. 

It shall be the duty of the directors to keep a copy of the last balance sheet 
of the society and of the report of the auditors, if any, always hung up in a 
conspicuous place at the registered office of the society. 

31. Servants. — The servants of the society shall be appointed at the discre- 
tion of the board of directors, and shall supply such articles only as the 
society, through the directors, agree to deal in, subject to their direction and 
control. 

They shall, when required by the directors, sign an agreement stating their 
duties and responsibilities, and also give security for the faithful fulfillment 
of such agreement. 

If found tampering with the quality, weight, or price of goods, .or committing 
any other offense, they shall be dealt with as the directors deem expedient. 

Servants of this society shall not be eligible for branch secretary, director, or 
president, nor shall they be allowed to canvass or interfere with the election 
of such officers on the society's premises. Any such interference shall be dealt 
with as the directors may deem expedient. 

32. Officers not to propose or second colleagues. — No director, president, mem- 
ber of the educational committee, or branch secretary shall propose or second 
any member to serve as an officer of the society. 

33. Injurious conduct. — The directors may suspend any member guilty of 
any conduct injurious to the society until they submit the same to a general 
meeting (of which the offender shall have seven days' notice), which meeting 
shall have power to expel such member if it think fit. Any member proved 
guilty to the satisfaction of the directors of having purchased checks from any 
person shall be expelled from the society, and any member so expelled shall 
thereupon cease to participate in the benefits of the society. No person so 
expelled shall again be readmitted except by vote of two-thirds of the directors. 

34. Complaints and suggestions. — A book shall be kept in the registered office 
in which members are requested to enter any suggestions or complaints relative 
to the business of the society, which shall be brought before the directors 
weekly. In case any member has ground for complaint relative to the work- 
ing of the society, its officers, servants, or articles dealt in, the same shall not 
be entertained at any meeting unless first entered into the book above named 
or sent in writing, signed by the name and number of the complainant, to the 
directors. If satisfaction be not given by the decision of the directors, it shall 
then be brought before any general meeting, whose decision shall be final. 

35. Disputes and arbitration. — Every dispute between a member of this 
society, or any person aggrieved who has for not more than six months ceased to 
be a member of this society, or any person claiming through such member 
or person aggrieved or claiming under the rules of this society, and the society 
or an officer thereof shall be decided in the following manner : 

(1) Appointment of arbitrators: At the first or any subsequent general meet- 
ing of the society after this rule is registered five arbitrators shall be elected, 
none of whom are directly or indirectly interested in the funds of the society. 

(2) Mode of selection: In any case of dispute the secretary of the society, or 
such other person as the directors appoint, shall, in the presence of the member 
or person aggrieved or claiming or some person appointed by him, write the 
names of the arbitrators for the time being upon separate pieces of paper and 
place them so that the names shall be concealed in a box or other receptacle, 
from which such member or person shall draw out three; the persons whose 
names are so drawn shall be the arbitrators to decide the dispute. 

(3) Vacancies in the number of arbitrators shall be filled by the first general 
meeting after they occur, and if not then filled, by the directors. 



- COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 185 

(4) The cost of an arbitration shall be borne as the arbitrators direct, and 
each party shall deposit $2.43 to abide their decision. 

(5) Where the dispute is between the legal personal representative of the 
nominee of a deceased member and the society, and the question at issue is, who 
is entitled to the whole or any portion of the property of such deceased member 
of the society, and either claimant applies to the society for arbitration, the 
secretary of the society shall give to each claimant notice in writing fixing a 
day and hour for the parties to attend at the society's registered office for the 
selection of arbitrators, in the mode set out in clause 2 of this rule, by such 
of the claimants as attend. 

(6) When the arbitrators have made their award on any dispute they shall 
send a copy of the award to the secretary of the society, who shall furnish the 
disputants with a copy of the same. 

(7) The arbitration act, 1889, or any act amending the same, shall not apply 
to any arbitration under this rule. 

36. Seal of the society. — The name of the society shall be kept painted and 
affixed on the outside of every office or place in which the business of the society 
is carried on, in a conspicuous position, in letters easily legible, and shall be en- 
graven in legible characters on a seal, and the society shall have its uame men- 
tioned in legible characters in all notices, advertisements, and other official pub- 
lications, and in all bills of exchange, promissory notes, indorsements, checks, 
and orders for money or goods purporting to be signed by or on behalf of such 
society, and in all bills of parcels, invoices, receipts, and letters of credit of the 
society. 

The seal shall have for device as follows: A dove with olive branch. It 
shall be in the custody of the president and secretary, and it shall be used 
only when directed by a resolution of the directors, a minute of which resolu- 
tion shall be duly recorded by the secretary. 

37. Construction of rules. — In construing these rules words importing the 
masculine gender shall be taken to apply to the feminine gender ; words import- 
ing one person or thing only shall be taken to apply to more than one person or 
thing; and words importing a class shall be taken to imply the majority of 
that class, unless there is something in the context to prevent such a construc- 
tion. 

38. Neiv rules and alteration of rules. — No rule shall be made, nor any of the 
rules herein contained or hereafter to. be mode shall be amended, altered, or 
rescinded, unless with the consent of a majority of the members present at a 
general meeting of the society specially called for that purpose. No amend- 
ment of rules is valid until registered. 

39. Bow the society may be dissolved. — The society may at any time be dis- 
solved by the consent of three-fourths of the members, testified by their signa- 
tures to some instrument of dissolution in the form provided by the treasury 
regulations in that behalf. (Industrial and provident societies act, 1893.) 

40. Annual return. — Every year, before March 31, the directors shall cause 
the secretary to send to the registrar the annual return in the form prescribed 
by the chief registrar" of friendly societies required by the industrial and 
provident societies act, 1893, of the receipts and expenditures, funds and effects 
of the society, and of the number of members of the same up to the 31st 
December then last, inclusively, as audited and laid before a general meeting, 
showing separately the expenditure iu respect to the several objects of the 
society, together with a copy of the auditors' report, if any. 

Such return shall state whether the audit has been conducted by a public 
auditor appointed under the industrial and provident societies act, 1893, and by 
whom ; and, if such audit has been conducted by any persons other than a 
public auditor, shall state the name, address, and calliug or profession of each 
of such persons, and the manner in which and the authority under which they 
were respectively appointed. (Industrial and provident societies act, 1893. 
s. 14.) 

It shall be the duty of the board of directors to provide the secretary with a 
sufficient number of copies of the annual return for supplying gratuitously 
every member or person interested in the funds of the society, on his applica- 
tion, with a copy of the last annual return of the society for the time being; 
and it shall be the duty of the secretary to supply such gratuitous copies on 
application accordingly. (Industrial and provident societies act, 1893, s. 15.) 

41. Power to apply to the registrar. — It shall be the right of one-tenth of 
the total number of members, or if the number of members shall at any time 
amount to 1,000 it shall be the right of 100 members, by an application in 



186 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. - 

writing to the chief registrar, signed by them in the forms respectively provided 
by the treasury regulations in that behalf, to apply for the appointment of one 
or more inspectors to examine into the affairs of the society and to report 
thereon, or to apply for the calling of a special meeting of the society. 

42^ Copy of rules. — A copy of these rules shall be delivered to any person on 
demand on payment of a sum not exceeding $2.43. 

BUILDING DEPARTMENT. 

43. (1) The society may make advances to members of the society on se- 
curity of property in manner provided hereinafter. 

(2) The board of directors shall have sole and entire control of all business 
carried on on account of the building department, and if any member is dis- 
satisfied with their decision he may appeal to a quarterly or ordinary meeting. 
No director shall vote on any question wherein his individual interests are 
especially concerned. 

(3) Any member desirous of an advance from the society shall leave with 
the secretary an application or survey paper, properly filled up and signed by 
thr? applicant in a form to be from time to time fixed by the board of directors, 
and which shall contain at least the name, address, and description of the 
applicant; the tenure and situation of the property on which the advance is 
asked ; the estimated value of the property ; a statement of all ground rents or 
other outgoings, if any ; a statement whether any and what trade or manufac- 
turing process is carried on on the premises; a statement of all stoves and 
furnaces thereon ; and the amount of the advance asked for. 

44. (1) The directors may, subject to the restrictions and limitations herein- 
before mentioned, advance any money out of the society's funds to members of 
the society on the security of lands or buildings, subject to such scale of repay- 
ment and at such rate of interest as is hereafter mentioned; but no sum ex- 
ceeding $2,433.25 shall be advanced by the society under these building rules to 
any one member or members who are joint holders of the same property, nor 
shall such advance in any case exceed 85 per cent of the ascertained value of 
the security given. 

(2) No advance shall at any time be made upon the security of any property 
that shall be subject to any previous mortgage other than the society. 

(3) The directors shall have power to make a second advance on the same 
property to any member, provided that at least one-half of the money already 
borrowed shall have been repaid; and shall also have power to make "such 
advance which would not in any case bring the total amount owing to the society 
to more than $2,433.25. 

(4) Interest shall be charged at 4 per cent, or such other rate as any quar- 
terly meeting may determine, on all sums advanced by the society, and shall 
be calculated on the balance due to the society on the 10th day of January, 
April, July, and October in each year. 

(5) The fees to be paid to the society for the examination and survey of all 
properties offered as security to the society, for examining plans and specifica- 
tions and estimating the cost of proposed buildings, for making a ground plan 
thereof, and furnishing the directors with a valuation shall be paid for by the 
member applying for the advance, and shall be according to the following 
scale, viz : 

When the amount of the valuation shall not exceed $486.65 $2. 43 

Exceeding $486.65 and not exceeding $973.30 3. 04 

Exceeding $973.30 and not exceeding $1,459.95 3. 65 

Exceeding $1,459.95 and not exceeding $2,433.25— 4. 86 

45. (1) The society shall be paid all traveling expenses incurred by the 
surveyor, and such additional fee for extra time as the directors may think 
reasonable. A further charge of 61 cents shall also be paid for each subsequent 
inspection of buildings in course of erection and for reporting thereon, or such 
other sum as the directors prescribe. 

(2) All legal and other expenses incurred in the transfer of any property to 
the society as security, either by conveyance or mortgage, shall be paid by the 
member immediately such conveyance or mortgage is made. 

(3) In case of any building in course of erection the member shall be entitled 
to receive a proportionate part of the advance agreed upon when the said build- 
ing shall have been raised to the height of the first floor, a proportionate part 
thereof when the building shall have been covered in or fully slated, and the 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 187 

remaining portion when the said building shall be completed according to the 
plans and specifications thereof, such advance to be on the approval of the 
society's surveyor or board of directors. 

(4) All advances shall be repayable by quarterly installments, according to 
one of the tables appended to these rules. The member shall state at the time 
of applying of the grant which of the tables he intends to adopt. 

(5) The repayment to commence from the time the society notifies to him 
that the house is tenantable ; or, in case of property being purchased, from the 
time the purchase is completed ; he may pay more than such rate if he choose, 
and may cease to pay until such prepayments are exhausted. 

(6) In addition to his ordinary repayments, each member shall pay all 
ground rents, rates, and taxes to which the property may be liable on which 
an advance has been made, and if the amount owing does not exceed $729.97, 
49 cents; exceeding $729.97 and not exceeding $1,459.95, 73 cents; exceeding 
$1,459.95 and. not exceeding $2,433.25, 97 cents per annum shall be paid for office 
expenses. 

46. (1) Should any member have repaid by contribution 20 per cent of the 
money advanced, he may, in case of distress or inabilitj 7 , be allowed three 
month's exemption from contributions, and a like exemption for every addi- 
tional 20 per cent he shall have repaid; but the sum total of all exemptious at 
any time allowed a member shall not exceed three months for every fifth part 
of the money advanced to him. 

(2) Any member having neglected to pay the installments due in accordance 
with the provisions of the foregoing rules, and not being entitled to exemption, 
shall be fined for such neglect the sum of 12 cents for every pound ($4.S7) 
sterling, or part of a pound ($4.87), due on such installment at the end of any 
quarter, which fine shall be enforced and added to such member's account and 
considered a debt due to the society. 

(3) In the event of any member being in arrears of fines and subscriptions 
equalling together the amount of his subscriptions for 12 months, the society 
shall at once take possession of the property. In the event of any member 
failing to comply with any or all of the agreements entered between him and 
the society, the board of directors shall have power to evict such member and 
take immediate possession of his property, and dispose of the same by public 
auction, private contract, or otherwise, as the directors may deem advisable; 
and any costs thereby incurred shall be added to the member's account with the 
society. 

(4) Should a member be evicted under the powers aforesaid and the property 
taken over does not realize the amount in which the said member is indebted, 
including all interest and fines due to the society, the difference between the 
amount so realized and the amount owing shall be a debt due from the said 
member to the society, recoverable by ordinary process of law ; but should the 
amount realized be more than the amount owing, the balance, after deducting 
the cost of putting the property in repair before such disposal as aforesaid, 
and any other charges that may have been incurred, shall be paid to such 
member, without interest, within six calendar months of his eviction. 

47. (1) From the time the board of directors declare a house tenantable the 
member shall keep it in proper repair to their entire satisfaction; and it must 
be insured against fire in some respectable office by and at the expense of the 
member, the policy, with all receipts for payments of annual premiums by the 
member, to be deposited with the society. 

(2) The member shall not carry on any trade, or make any alteration in his 
house, or house and land, without first having obtained the written consent of 
the directors to such effect. The society shall have the right of entry for 
inspection once in each year. 

(3) A member who, under these rules, has acquired an interest in any 
property may sell his interest therein to any nonmember who will, on such sale 
being effected, pay to the society the balance then due on such property ; or to 
any member, on obtaining the written consent of the board of directors, and 
giving an undertaking by the second purchaser to discharge all liabilities to the 
society due from the original member or first purchaser, and thereupon such 
second purchaser shall be substituted into all rights and privileges, and become 
liable to all claims which subsist or could be made in respect to the said prop- 
erty as between the society and the first purchaser. 

(4) When any transaction is entered into between the society and any person, 
whether a member or not, and the society shall deem it necessary or expedient 
to grant or accept a conveyance, surrender, lease, mortgage, transfer, agreement, 
bond, or other instrument for rendering such transaction valid and effectual, 



188 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

tliey may enter into such assurance; and it shall be in such form, and contain 
such clauses, conditions, and provisions as the board of directors may from time 
to time determine upon. If any member who, under these rules, has acquired 
an interest in any property dies, or is declared a lunatic, before the repayment 
of the advance on such property is completed, the society shall, on the applica- 
tion in writing of the legal representatives of such deceased member, or such 
lunatic member, substitute any responsible person named in such application, 
who shall sign an agreement to take upon himself the liabilities of such member 
toward the society in respect of the said property, and to exercise in the place 
of such member all rights possessed by him in respect theerto. 

48. When the entire cost of any property, together with all interest and 
charges thereon, have been fully paid, the board of directors shall hand over 
to the member, his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, all deeds, docu- 
ments etc. held as security by the society and at his cost indorse a receipt or 
acknowledgment upon the mortgage or such other assurance as may have been 
given to the society for securing the sum or sums which they may have ad- 
vanced in the form contained, in the form contained in Schedule III of the 
industrial and provident societies act, 1893. 

James Beoadbent, 
Jas. S. Aemitage, 
Alfred J. Cliffe, 
C. H. Daniel, 
William Kellett, 
Walter Schofield, 
Edgar Whiteley, 

Members of the Society. 
J. T. Prentis, Secretary. 

Reg. No. 56, Yorks. R. Complete Amendment. 



acknowledgment of registry of amendment of rules. 
The foregoing amendment of the rules of the Huddersfield Industrial Society 
(Ltd.) is registered under the industrial and provident societies act, 1893, this 
31th day of June, 1902. 

E. W. B. 
Copy kept— E. W. B. 



National Chamber of Trade. 

statement re cooperative societies, prepared in reply to request from 
the american consul (huddersfield). 

Cooperative societies certainly do not supply goods by retail cheaper than the 
individual trader, except perhaps in the case of small shops in side streets or 
small villages. In order to pay their dividends they charge on most goods a 
substantial amount higher than the prices at which they can be bought from 
private traders. So much is this the case that, among other similar statements, 
Mr. A. H. Gill, a labor member of Parliament, told a cooperative gathering 
about 18 months ago that the lower-paid ranks of railway servants and other 
low-paid grades of labor could not belong to cooperative societies in con- 
sequence. 

No words are strong enough to describe the stagnating effect of cooperative 
trading where such has a good hold. It is sapping the independence of our 
workingmen everywhere. The foremen of large works and factories are pur- 
posely elected on the committees of cooperative societies and exercise an amount 
of direct and indirect tyranny over the men whose employment depends upon 
them that has a most baneful effect on character and is undoubtedly responsible 
for the rapid growth of cooperative societies in large industrial centers. 

THRIFT. 

Instead of inducing thrift, the effect of cooperation is largely, if not alto- 
gether, the opposite. It would be as easy to lean to swim by merely watching 
some one else as to learn thrift by committing it to a quarterly dividend. Every 



COOPERATION" AND THE COST OF LIVING. 189 

year to this (Hull) and to other cities comes a vast concourse of working peo- 
ple, who spend their dividends in a reckless, if brief, spell of dissipation. Co- 
operation and pauperism have a relation to each other, as illustrated in the 
inclosed literature, the facts in which have taken me some years to discover, 
although I was previously convinced that cooperation could not secure anything 
like a habit of thrift, which, of course, must be a personal attainment. 

ATTITUDE OF COOPEKATTVE TO PRIVATE TRADING. 

Scarcely a week passes when the Cooperative News does not indicate that 
the ultimate object of cooperative trading is that of eliminating individual 
enterprise. Mr. Philip Snowdon, M. P., a prominent socialist, says that co- 
operation is socialism carried out, and I quite agree with that statement. 

I think America and Canada are to be congratulated on the absence of this 
class of trading. It is trading by means of present giving in effect, but the 
present in this case is a hash of all kinds of sentiment that can be put forward 
to secure members. 

As to its permanency I have very great doubts. The ordinary present-giving 
class of trading has all but died out; pensions with tea schemes have been 
found out ; and cooperative dividends will not stand the test of free, honest, 
competitive trading, and must either disappear or bring with its success practi- 
cal slavery for the consumer as regards his purchases — a slavery which, as indi- 
cated, already exists in some quarters. Cooperation is founded on the illusion 
that the retailer has a large margin of profit. 

Though these societies were formed to trade only with their own members, 
and on cash terms only, very few now follow these principles of the founders 
of the movement. I should say quite 90 per cent give credit, but the exact 
figures can be obtained from the chief registrar of friendly societies or from 
his bluebook report B for year ending December 31. These societies occupy 
some of the finest shop premises in the best positions iu the various cities and 
tender regularly for municipal and other contracts. I have myself particulars 
of eight instances in which they have secured public contracts. 

The statement on inside cover of inclosed pamphlet on " Unemployment " 
shows that cooperation is guilty of sweating. Any current issue of the Coop- 
erative News will show that a great agitation has been going on for some time 
to get the Cooperative Wholesale Society to adopt a respectable minimum wage 
for female employees, and so far without avail. 

The assertions in the inclosed literature are based almost entirely on state- 
ments taken from the speeches of the leaders and exponents of the cooperative 
movement, and in other ways we have avoided biased statements, apart, of 
course, from facts, which speak for themselves. 

Paper on Unemployment in its Relation to Retail Trade and Cooperative- 
Store Dealing, etc. 

[Read at United Parish Organization meeting at Worcester, Mar. 8, 1909.] 

WHAT DOES COOPERATIVE TRADING STAND FOR? 

Does it stand for purity in business? 

The extent to which bribery is disclosed in the special report of the coop- 
erative union, which, after mentioning a large number of cases, concludes with 
the statement that it has only touched the fringe of the subject, is the union's 
own answer to that question. 

Does it prevent unemployment, as originally claimed? 

This system of trading employs about 4 per cent of its customers ; the other 
96 buy their goods where it is impossible to sell their labor. 

Does it stand for a fair and reasonable wage to employees? 

The following extract is from a report of a councilor's speech at a cooperative 
meeting at Brierfield : 

" It did not reflect much credit on the society to allow assistants to serve 
their time, and when they were made responsible branch managers to give 
them a maximum of $6.0S a week. He asked the meeting was it right to expect 
these men to live honestly and respectably on such wages." 

The cooperative union recently sent a circular to 1,251 societies urging the 
adoption of a minimum wage to employees. Only 195 societies acknowledged 
it, but of which only 79 expressed a willingness to adopt the scale. 



190 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

Does it stand for thrift? 

In his address to a recent cooperative congress the president said : "At least 
cooperative trading does stand for thrift." We have it, however, on 'the au- 
thority of the poor-law returns, that Lancashire, the birthplace and chief strong- 
hold of this class of trading, stands at the top of the list of counties as having 
almost the highest percentage of indoor pauperism. 

COOPERATIVE TRADING. * 

Collectivism and cooperative commonwealth are both high-sounding and, to 
some, fascinating terms, though I doubt whether many who use them understand 
their true meaning. But where do they lead us to? Most certainly to unem- 
ployment and to a rapid descent from our present position as a nation. It 
would mean, in fact, a return to barter and barbarism. 

Why waste time in striving after the impossible? Why not try and do some 
good in the world as we find it, by teaching industry and thrift and one's duty 
toward one's neighbor, instead of this everlasting self and selfishness which 
cooperativism encourages and promotes. To those who have the true interests 
of their country at heart and have thought deeply upon the subject the term 
collectivism is full of peril and, if carried out, must inevitably bring this coun- 
try into the position of modern Greece, or Turkey, or Persia, or any of the 
other decayed empires which once were great. It is through commerce by 
individuals that this country has become the powerful empire it is, and com- 
merce on similar lines is the only way it is going to maintain its position. 

The cooperative movement is a stupendous movement of selfishness masquer- 
ading in the guise of disinherited altruism. The policy of "live and let live" 
has long since ceased to exist with people who favor this method of trading. 
The nominal wathchword is "Each for all and all for each," but practically 
this means " Each for self and the devil take the rest." 

Let sensible men and women refuse to patronize the stores miscalled cooper- 
ative, and then those men who are now employed as part of the cast-iron 
machinery of these soul-killing monopolistic institutions would have a chance 
to strike out for themselves in the freer and more bracing atmosphere of indi- 
vidual enterprise. Our whole social atmosphere would benefit by the change, 
as every unit of society would then feel himself to be a part of a real and true 
cooperation which would embrace all ranks, conditions, and classes of society 
in mutual helpfulness and Christian unselfishness, which would hasten the 
coming of that glad time summed up in the words " no unemployment." 

I hold that members of a cooperative society do a double disservice to the 
State and to their fellow men — they take the wages provided by individual 
enterprise and spend them with the stores which pay no income tax, thus divert- 
ing money from the source where income tax would be paid and causing a 
heavier burden to fall upon all those who do have to pay the tax on their 
The nominal watchword is " Each for all and all for each," but practically 
out of each hundred) buy their goods where it is impossible to sell their labor. 
Employment the cooperative member and his children must find from indi- 
vidual enterprise. 

On the subject of income tax it may be well to mention that the turnover 
of cooperative stores throughout the country is now the colossal sum of 
$535,315,000 per annum, and although they deal with and supply the general 
public, as well as their own members, they pay no income tax on their profits. 
All forms of trading, whether cooperative or other companies, ought to be taxed 
on their profits. If this plan were adopted, millions of trade which now escapes 
would be bearing its just share of taxation. Members of cooperative stores 
earn their living at their own callings, and ought, in fairness to their fellow- 
men, to allow others to get a living as well as themselves. If shopkeepers and 
small merchants are crushed out of existence, the result must increase unem- 
ployment. The members of the cooperative society are damming up an avenue 
for their own sons' advancement. In a world like this we must be dependent 
one upon another — it is a great natural law — and if we begin to ignore this law 
and to let self-interest alone divert us from this path things must go wrong, 
and at the present time the wrong has resulted in lack of employment. 

The aim of cooperators is to annihilate the individual tradesman. Let anyone 
who doubts this assertion read the cooperative publications and see how the 
private tradesmen and the commercial class generally are traduced and vilified. 
It is their avowed object, and anyone who looks below the surface of things 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVTNG. 191 

must see that this is a most one-sided position to take up, and must lead to the 
impoverishment of all towns and consequent want of employment. 

It is a well-known fact that in all towns where cooperative stores are suc- 
cessful, the general trade is on the decline. I would point to several, not far 
from here — Gloucester, Kidderminster, Wolverhampton, Oxford. The general 
trade, not only retail, but manufacturing and mercantile trades generally, of 
each of these towns is much smaller than 20 years ago. The reason is that 
money is diverted into the wrong channels and unemployment is on the increase. 

It has been stated that a cooperative store with a turnover of $250,000 yearly, 
carrying on a variety of trades, would employ 64 persons on the average, 
whereas if this trade of $250,000 yearly was distributed among a number of 
shops it would find work for probably 100 persons. 

It is easy to see from this that for every cooperative store doing $250,000 
yearly, 36 persons are thrown out of work. 

If you follow that up, a million spent at the stores means 720 persons thrown 
out of employment, and on the total turnover of all the stores, viz, $535,315,000, 
you have the stores directly responsible for an army of unemployed of 72,000 
persons, to say nothing of the enormous number who are affected indirectly. Is 
not this appalling? Yet it is true. 

An army of enforced idlers such as this makes a seething pool of unemploy- 
ment, terribly harmful to the workingman who has his labor to sell in a market 
already overstocked with men out of work. I conclude, then, that in the final 
test, in the most exhaustive analysis, the cooperative system of trading is a 
monstrous piece of self-deception, and is responsible for much present distress, 
and more particularly is injurious to the very persons who, strangely enough, 
are supposed to benefit by it. 

Some cooperators, when spoken to on the question of income tax, assert that 
their surplus is not a profit, but an overcharge to supply its dividend — an over- 
charge in truth ; that it is a well-known fact that goods sold at such stores are 
usually much dearer than from individuals ; that it is indeed a profligate market 
for a poor man to take his money to. 

I have no wish to ask for protection for Worcester, but simply ask the public 
to exercise common sense and loyalty to help to solve the very serious problem 
of unemployment. 






The following extract is taken from a circular issued under the authority of 
the British National Chamber of Trade, dated August 3, 1910 : 

INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETIES (AMENDMENT) BILL. 

The deputation, on behalf of the chamber, offered strong opposition to clauses 
2, 6, and 8 of the bill, and the following statement, upon which an interesting 
discussion arose with those present and which embodies the chamber's reasons 
for opposition, was read : 

To the Right Hon. O. E. H. Hobhouse, M. P. 

Sir: This deputation represents the National Chamber of Trade, and is 
composed of the gentlemen whose names have been handed in and who form 
part of the membership of its parliamentary and general purposes committee. 

The chamber represents over 100,000 trading firms, made up of 1,000 indi- 
vidual members and 200 associations and federations, covering nearly the whole 
of England and Wales and part of Scotland. 

We note the bill standing in your name, and your statement as to its approval 
by a large number of industrial and provident societies. We do not, however, 
find in the bill anything that restricts the operations of these societies, but 
quite a number that extend and strengthen the powers given to them by the 
act of 1893. We draw attention to some of these because for many years a 
very unfair competition against ordinary trade has been carried on under the 
privileges afforded by the existing act. Trading societies not directly assessed 
for income tax, escaping stamp duty and doing huge volumes of trade outside 
the intentions and purposes of the act, inflict a double hardship on ordinary 
tradesmen and others, first, by loss of trade, and second, by increased amount 
of income tax which these societies escape and will probably escape to a still 
greater extent under the amendments proposed in the bill. 



192 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

We draw attention first to clause 2, which proposes to extend the limit of 
the holdings from $973.30 to $1,459.95. As you are aware, the cooperative 
societies are registered under this particular act and do a huge amount of 
trading, now reaching to a turnover of something like $535,315,000 per annum. 
In this amount is included large sums from trading carried on outside its 
membership, and in connection with which we draw your attention to paragraph 
139 of the report of the departmental committee on income tax, made to 
Parliament in 1905, as follows : 

" The question whether societies registered under the provident and industrial 
societies act ought to be subjected to any limitations with regard to their 
dealings with nonmembers was not referred to us and we express no opinion 
upon it. It has been brought to our notice that very large and varied enter- 
prises in the way of manufacturing, shipping, insurance, and banking — enter- 
prises which in some cases involve considerable and regular dealings with the 
outside public — are now carried on under the industrial and provident societies 
act; and it may be worth consideration whether further inquiry should be 
made into the conditions under which the privilege of registration under that 
act is conferred." 

Apart from the question of outside trading, it will be possible, under the 
proposed extension of the holding limit, for many families to have investments 
of $7,299.75 to $9,733, exclusive of amount on deposit, families who, in a very 
large number of cases, would never be expected to take the course of either 
trading or membership with such societies and who can have no claim upon 
the privileges already given, much less upon the extensions of these privileges 
which the bill proposes. 

Clause 6 permits the class of people referred to to be returned under a mark 
or number, making it impossible, as in the case of ordinary joint-stock com- 
panies, to obtain the names of those investing in these cooperative societies, 
which are now recognized of being neither more nor less than ordinary trading 
concerns. 

Clause 8 exempts such societies from payment of stamp duties on certain 
documents, a privilege which may be numbered amongst others entirely prefer- 
ential in character. 

Collectively, these societies form a huge trust. They openly and persistently 
proclaim their intention to eliminate all individual trading enterprise. The 
view may be held that the injury done to traders is in some way met by benefits 
conferred upon the poorer part of the population, inducing provident habits. 
This view at its inception might appear to be sound and well intentioned, but 
the practical working of societies registered for trading purposes under this 
act has now covered a very wide area of the country and. a period long enough 
in which to judge as to whether or not these intentions have issued in the 
practical results sought for. 

And we maintain that so far as the cooperative trading done under this act 
is concerned it might more fitly be termed " The improvident societies' act." 
It was specially intended and hoped that this system would abolish unem- 
ployment and poverty, and the one feature that is still held aloft above all 
others is that this trading does stand for thrift. What are the facts? Take 
the latest statistics of indoor pauperism, the best data that can be taken for 
any real judgment; we find that out of the returns of 50 different counties, 
Lancashire — the birthplace of this style of trading and its chief stronghold — 
stands at the top instead of at the bottom of the percentages in indoor pau- 
perism. Only four other counties outside London equal it in the extent of its 
numbers. As to thrift, in this particular county there is a large amount of a 
certain kind of thrift, but it is spendthrift, because in no county is hard-earned 
money spent more freely, and, as many think, recklessly. 

We believe that in other counties where this style of pseudo-thrift obtains 
will be found similar evidences as set forth with regard to Lancashire. 

On the grounds, therefore, both of the injury done to ordinary trade and the 
absolute failure of cooperative societies as schools of thrift, and on several 
others that could be named, we urge that a full inquiry should be made into 
the conditions under which the privilege of registration under the existing act 
is conferred, and that further consideration of this measure should be post- 
poned until such thorough inquiry has been brought about. 

The deputation was informed that further procedure with the bill had been 
postponed until the autumn. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 193 

[Extracts from a circular issued by the Chamber of Trades.] 

Insurance Bill and " C-op " Societies. 

The subject was introduced by the honorable secretary (Mr. S. T. Nicholson), 
who is also secretary of the National Chamber of Trades, who moved the fol- 
lowing resolution: 

EMPHATIC PROTEST. 

" That this meeting of the Hull and District Chamber of Trades forwards 
its emphatic protest against the permission given to cooperative societies to 
become approved societies under the above bill as amended. These societies 
are doing a huge amount of trade entirely outside the spirit of the provisions 
of the industrial and provident societies act under which they are registered 
and occupy an unfair competitive position with the traders of the country. 
This chamber strongly urges the amendment of clause 23, which is entirely 
opposed to the spirit of the preceding clause, clause 22 stating that an ap- 
proved society must not be a society carried on for profit, while clause 23 
provides for profit-making societies forming separate sections, so as to become 
approved societies under the bill, and work State insurance side by side in un- 
fair competition with the ordinary trader." 

The county of Lancashire, the birthplace and chief stronghold of cooper- 
ative trading, should at least show s^^ie results of the thrift which was con- 
stantly pointed to as the best and brightest product of the work done by co- 
operative societies. But what were the facts? 

SOME FACTS. 

Outside London Lancashire showed the largest percentage of workhouse in- 
mates in the whole country, and its over 1,000 friendly societies possessed 
almost the lowest amount per head of reserve fund of any county in the 
Kingdom. So much for thrift. What of employment? Out of every hundred 
members who purchased goods at these stores only four could find employ- 
ment with them, the remaining 96 depending for employment upon individual 
enterprise. The strongest thing about this system of trading, however, was 
that while it was supported by trade unionists and managed by such it had 
been for years one if not the most sweated employment in the country. A 
testimony confirming this had been made by the Wholesale Society within the 
]ast few weeks, who in declining to advance the wages of women workers 
stated they would welcome the formation of trade boards. At present the 
minimum wage was only paid by a comparatively small number of societies, 
and that minimum was much below the wage limit claimed by the trade 
unionists who presided over this style of trading. 

A HIGH AIM. 

It is remarkable, after 60 years of constant attacks upon ordinary trade 
enterprise, to read this month in a leading article in the Cooperative News, as 
follows : 

" We have said before that it would be a splendid testimonial to cooperation 
if the movement could devise means of paying a scale of wages that would 
leave no doubt about its adequacy in comparison to wages paid outside. We 
should then provide a most effective recommendation for the movement, to 
wage-earning classes, and to the public generally of the value of cooperation, 
not only to the consumer but to the worker." 

A SUGGESTION. 

He was not sure whether the next amendment would not be to remove the 
clause altogether. To state in clause 22 that " an approved society shall not 
be a society carried on for profit," and in clause 23 to suggest how this might 
be evaded and to provide means for such evasion was a method of procedure 
which needed strong language to properly describe. No protest could be too 
strong and no party preferences were worth putting in the scale against 
unjust conditions that applied not to their wishes, their sentiments, or their 
party prejudices, but to common justice in the pursuit of their common tasks 
as equal members of the State. 

34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 13 



194 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

Mr. Hardaker seconded, Mr. D. Green supported, and a discussion ensued, 
during which it was pointed out that the cooperative societies paid no 
income tax. 

The resolution was unanimously carried. 

It was decided to send telegrams of protest to the chancellor of the exchequer 
and the local members of Parliament, and also to set on foot a petition. 



UNTAXED TRADING. 

[Being a paper read at the executive conference of the national chamber of trade at its 
autumn meeting, held in the town hall, Liverpool, Sept. 23, 1909.] 

Cooperative societies are registered under the industrial and provident 
societies act, 1893, and, under clause 24 of that act, are not chargeable under 
schedules C and D of the income-tax acts " unless it sells to persons not mem- 
bers thereof, and the number of shares of the society is limited either by its 
rul^s or its practice." As it is, of course, generally known that these societies 
are openly trading with nonmembers, as well as executing public contracts, it 
would appear that they are continually and persistently contravening this act, 
under which they secure so many privileges not enjoyed by the ordinary retail 
trader. The legal opinion, however, is that the two conditions contained in the 
clause are cumulative; that is, that the society must both sell to nonmembers, 
and the number of shares must be limited, in order to make it chargeable for 
income tax. It would appear, therefore, according to this interpretation of the 
clause that a society may, with impunity, sell to nonmembers, so long as its 
shares are unlimited, although, in my opinion, this is contrary to the spirit of 
the clause, and was not the intention of the framers of the act. Thus this great 
trading concern, with its boasted profit of over ten millions per annum, has 
absolute freedom from a tax which has to be borne by the very traders with 
whom it is competing. Unjust as this is, there are yet many other — and, in my 
opinion, more serious — aspects of cooperative trading as now conducted, which 
seem to have been almost lost sight of. Various associations up and down the 
country have for years been confining their attention almost exclusively to this 
question of income-tax assessment, as though the existence of the stores de- 
pended entirely upon their freedom or otherwise from the payment of income 
tax. Conferences have been held ; deputations have waited upon the treasury ; 
hundreds of resolutions have been passed; and yet the stores go on increasing 
their turnover year by year. 

Let us see what this payment of income tax really means. Suppose the 
Government adopted the suggestion contained in the former part of the Glouces- 
ter resolution and compelled all cooperative societies to register under the com- 
panies' consolidation acts as trading companies. It would mean that the 
treasury would receive in income tax from this source something like half a 
million pounds ($2,500,000) per annum, but they would have millions of claims 
for repayment from those whose incomes (and they are in the majority) were 
under the exemption limit. I do not think, therefore, that the imposition of the 
tax, with all its repayments, would have any material effect on the growth of 
this system of trading, as the clamor for dividend seems to blind members to 
the exorbitant prices which it has been proved again and again they are paying 
for many of their commodities. The old cooperative ideals appear now to be 
practically extinguished, the only object of the majority of the members evi- 
dently being dividend at any price. Let me give a few facts with respect to the 

H — : Society. The average purchasing power is under $2.43 per member 

per week ; say, $126.52 per annum. The last declared dividend was 44 cents in 
the $4.87. This means an actual dividend or bonus for the year of $11.68 
per member. It will readily be seen, therefore, that income tax at 24 cents in 
the $4.87 on this sum would be under 61 cents per annum, and it should 
be borne in mind that this is even going the full length of the Gloucester reso- 
lution and providing for taxation at source, which would be nonreturnable. 
Again, the H Society was established in 1890. Its sales for the last half- 
year amounted, in round figures, to $750,000. This means a turnover of $30,000 
a week, or, in other words, that 60 individual traders, doing a turnover of $500 
per week, have been absolutely extinguished. Any trader with this turnover in, 
say, the grocery trade, would require the services of at least two assistants and 
an errand boy. He would be able to make more than a comfortable living, pay 
his employees well and give them that personal attention and consideration for 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 195 

their welfare which is not secured under any other conditions. He would be 
able to take a part in social and municipal life and would be a useful member of 
society in many ways which it is unnecessary for me, in the limited space of 
this paper, to enumerate. I think, therefore, you will agree that the mere im- 
position of income tax will not stop the growth of cooperative trading, and that 
it is not the panacea for all the disabilities under which we suffer. Is not the 
remedy, however, to a large extent, in the trader's own hands? 

First. I am persuaded that the trader who takes an intelligent interest in his 
business, studies the requirements of his customers, and secures their con- 
fidence will not be easily forced out of existence by any competing system. 

Second. We are bound to recognize that the purchaser has a perfect right to 
spend his money where and how he likes, and any active public criticism, if 
not very carefully and judiciously considered, will not only give the stores a 
good advertisement, but may show them weaknesses in their system, which 
they will immediately attempt to remedy. We should, however, see to it that 
no stone is left unturned to prevent the stores securing privileges which are 
not enjoyed by the traders with whom they are competing. Wherever cases 
of undue influence are found to be exercised by foremen in any of the large 
works or on the railway systems (and this I know is going on, and, in my 
opinion, is one of the greatest sources of the growth of cooperative trading), 
the management of the works where such practices are in existence should be 
quietly interviewed. 

Third. As far as possible, traders should deal only with manufacturers who 
do not supply the stores, as in many cases they fix a minimum retail selling 
price at which their commodities must be sold, and yet allow cooperative 
societies to take off a bonus to their members, which gives the stores an unfair 
advantage. 

Fourth. Wherever cooperative contracts are accepted by public institutions, 
the matter should be vigorously taken up. In the case of boards of guardians — ■ 
and I take it this applies also to all municipal and rate-supported bodies — any 
member participating in any profit arising from any contract or work under- 
taken for the board, is disqualified from acting as a member of that board, and 
if he continues to do so, he is liable to a considerable penalty. Thus, it would 
appear that members of boards of guardians, if they are associated with the 
cooperative movement, are in an illegal position where such boards accept co- 
operative contracts. The matter is well worth following up by the various 
associations and chambers of trade up and down the country. 

Fifth. It is possible to do away with claims for repayment of income tax 
(provided, of course, that societies were compelled to register under the com- 
panies' acts) by considerably reducing the exemption basis and- making prac- 
tically everyone pay income tax. This would not only make repayment to 
cooperative members impossible, but would relieve to a considerable extent 
that already overburdened class, the individual trader. Drastic as this may 
seem, there appears to be greater reason than ever for reform in this direction, 
as the earning capacities of the middle and working classes have in recent 
years been brought much nearer together. 

Sixth. We are bound to recognize that the conditions of retail trading have 
altogether changed within the last decade, and it may be that some of those 
individual traders who have ceased to exist may not be altogether unblam- 
able. We can not, however, but deplore the taste that certain sections of the 
purchasing public have acquired for dividend at any price; their readiness to 
purchase from company shops a certain commodity as a " pound overweight " 
(which is really a pound and a half) at 24 cents and pass over their own shop- 
keeper rather than pay him 16 cents or less for a legitimate pound of the 
same article. We can not but deplore, too, the growth of coupon trading, in- 
troduced by certain prominent manufacturers, which is compelling the dis- 
tributor to participate in their methods, however he may disagree with them. 
All these systems and many others which I have not space to enumerate, are 
not only repulsive to the straightforward retail trader, who desires to serve 
his customers well and to give value for money, but are becoming a serious 
menace to his welfare. The question therefore presents itself whether if a 
certain section of the purchasing public have made up their minds to have 
dividend at any price it is not worth while to consider the adoption of some- 
thing in this direction to counteract the growth of cooperative trading. 



196 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING, 

COOPERATION. 
[Extract from report of Trades-Union Congress held at Huddersfield in 1900.] 

In the early acceptance of these principles and in the phenomenal success 
which has attended their growth the working classes of Huddersfield and dis- 
trict may be highly congratulated. These societies have abolished all the evils 
of credit and introduced the more enlightened practice of cash payments : they 
have encouraged habits of thrift; enabled workingmen to become owuers of 
their own dwelling houses; and they have supplied to the consumers genuine 
and unadulterated articles of food and clothing. There can be no doubt that by 
raising the standard of comfort among the workers they have increased the 
stability of social order and contributed to the well-being of the State. The 
modern form of cooperation is generally spoken of as dating from the efforts of 
the 28 pioneers of Rochdale in 1844, and its distinguishing feature is the dis- 
tribution of profits among the members in proportion to the amount of their 
purchases. But from 1824 to 1840 there was considerable activity in the coop- 
erative world, owing to the immense propagandist labor of Robert Owen and his 
followers. These earlier societies, with few exceptions, either distributed their 
profits among the shareholders only, or, as Mr. Holyoake says, " The profits 
were not divided, but were allowed to accumulate for the purpose chiefly of 
reconstituting the world." A high and noble ideal without doubt ! 

The present series of national cooperative congresses only date from 1869, 
but the early cooperators had a series of seven congresses, ending in 1835. 

" The fifth of these early congresses," says Mr. Holyoake, " was held in Hud- 
dersfield, in April, 1833, when a public meeting took place in the White Hart 
Inn, and one was held at Back Green (Ramsden Street), called by the town 
crier. Numerous delegates from the various cooperative societies throughout 
the kingdom gave encouraging accounts of their progress, and it was reported 
that societies in the West Riding of Yorkshire alone had accumulated a capital 
of $24,332, which was thought a great sum then in the north. Mr. Stock, high 
constable at Huddersfield, spoke at the meeting, and Mr. Owen moved a vote of 
thanks to their patriotic high constable. Mr. W. R. Wood, of London, was 
appointed one of the secretaries of the congress, and a committee was appointed 
to immediately engage premises for a labor exchange." The societies at this 
period, though numerous, were only small and financially feeble; consequently 
many of them, after the first enthusiasm had spent itself, soon languished and 
died. Among these early failures in this district were found the following 12 
societies : In 1829, one each in Huddersfield and Almoridbury ; 1830, Armitage 
Bridge, Shelley, Milnsbridge. Stocksmoor, and Thurstonlaud ; 1832, Lindley, 
New Mill, and Holmfirth ; 1833, Narnley Tyas ; and 1834, Lowerhouses. All 
these have ceased to exist. Of the ancient societies still existing in the district 
are the following five : Meltham Mills, established in 1827 — this has the honor of 
being the sixth oldest in England; 1830, Kirkheaton; 1838, Almondbury; 1840, 
Hepworth and Netherton. The Meltham Mills society has paid dividends on 
purchases ever since its formation, thus anticipating the Rochdale Pioneers by 
some 17 years. 

Cooperative societies, like trades-unions, in early days were not protected 
by law, and we find that in 1830 Mr. Haigh, of the Milnsbridge Society, wrote 
to the British Cooperator that " they were obliged to discharge their store- 
keeper, as he had defrauded them of so much property during the quarter." 

Now, let us glance at the present statistical position of cooperation in Hud- 
dersfield. Excluding 35 societies in the villages ajacent to the borough, we 
find that there were in December, 1899, within the borough boundary 12 sepa- 
rate societies, having a total membership of 17,983, with a share capital of 
$1,352,750; their sales for the year reached $2,645,697 and the net profits 
$429,999. It is not easy to imagine the great material benefits conferred ufion 
the working classes of Huddersfield by the annual distribution of these large 
profits. The largest of these local societies is the one having its headquarters 
in Buxton Road. This society was founded in 1860, and its career has been a 
most prosperous one. The following figures for the year 1899 may prove inter- 
esting : Number of members, 12,182 ; capital, $951,123 ; sales, $1,759,059 ; profits, 
$256,484 ; dividend, $0.73 ; amount spent on educational purposes, $2,564. The 
society has 21 branch stores, also a large circulating library and reading 
rooms. 

Although cooperative distribution has been such a pronounced success, it is 
to be regretted that in Huddersfield 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 197 

COOPERATIVE PRODUCTION 

has not made equally rapid strides. At present there are only three cooper- 
ative productive societies in this district, viz, the cloth manufactory of Messrs. 
Wm. Thomson & Sons, at Woodhouse Mills, Deighton; The Colne Vale Corn 
Miller's Society, at Slaithwaite; and the recently formed brush manufacturing 
society in Manchester Road. These concerns are proving very successful ; they 
each pay a bonus to labor, and at the first-named society a portion of the profits 
are divided to the formation of a pension and assurance fund. It is hoped 
that these examples will be multiplied in the near future, as they furnish an 
efficient method of uniting in a harmonious bond the interests of both capital 
and labor. There have in the past been other attempts at cooperative produc- 
tion in Huddersfield. The earliest was in 1829 and took the form of a combined 
cooperative trading and manufacturing association. Their printed rules were 
prefaced with the following sensible motto from Isaiah : " They helped every- 
one his neighbor, and everyone said to his neighbor, be of good courage." 

Lady Byron was actively interested in this first Huddersfield cooperative 
society and took the trouble of lending it (and induced her friends to lend it) 
considerable financial assistance. 

Other productive societies which have failed are the woolen mill at Seed 
Hill and the cooperative iron works at Aspley. 



[Extracts from report of Cooperative Union on bribery and corruption in cooperation, 

first issued in 1900.] 

In July, 1899, during the examination of a commercial traveler at the New- 
castle-on-Tyne bankruptcy court the bankrupt's evidence asserted that his losses 
were largely due to bribes which he had given to persons connected with the 
management of cooperative societies in order to get business. Nine societies 
were concerned, and most of them consented to take action against the firms 
which had given bribes to their officials, and though unsuccessful in the county 
court, where the officials concerned denied offense, one society was successful in 
the assize court, the firm concerned admitting bribery by their employee. 

After dealing with these circumstances the report of the union continues : 

" We have perused a pile of correspondence, written by persons who have at 
different times been on the committee of management of various societies. In 
most of these letters there is generally a profession of devotion to the interests 
of the particular firm or representatives to whom they are addressed — a request 
for a present or thanks for one already received — together with a general be- 
trayal of trust, divulging the business of the society, and all through, action as 
though the writers of the letters had been elected on the committee, not to 
safeguard the interests of the members of the society and to manage their 
business, but simply to be there as the agent in advance of the commercial 
traveler who happened to reward them best. Some of these men, we understand, 
are still on the committee. If they are the members ought to know what action 
to take. 

" For your information it may be as well to give one or two specimens of 
these gems of correspondence. Here are a few examples : 

" 'Allow me to thank you for the dress you have sent for Mrs. , and at 

any time I can do you a good turn I shall be most happy to do so.' 

" ' Myself and Mr. think that you might send on any little present 

which you may think worthy of our support in last orders, and we shall look 
after you if there's to be any more orders this quarter.' 

" ' I am sorry to inform you that you were not successful last Wednesday 
night. I saw the committee before the meeting, but could not get the majority.'" 

There are 39 of these samples of correspondence, and they take up the bulk 
of the space in the little reprint. 



The Rise in British Food Prices since 1898 — Increased Cost of Living. 

The British Cooperative Wholesale Society has recently issued a leaflet, rela- 
tive to the prices of eight items of common household provisions for the years 
1898, 1906, 1908, and 1910. The tables given below show the wholesale prices 



198 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OE LIVING. 



per pound, also prices based on an average weekly family grocery order; also 
the wholesale cost of coal for domestic purposes at the pit mouth. 

According to the figures given below, the British pound sterling ($4.86 in 
American currency) would purchase in 1898 80.81 pounds weight of the com- 
modities mentioned. In 1910 it would purchase 71.29 pounds, being a reduction 
in purchasing power amounting to about 9| pounds weight in 12 years. The 
increase in the average family grocery bill for weekly purchases was 17 cents. 
Domestic coal rose from $2.42 to $3.22, or about 33 per cent. 

British food prices (per pound). 



Goods. 


1898 


1906 


1908 


1910 


Bacon and hams 


Cents. 

10- 

23+ 

U0+ 

3- 

6+ 

2+ 

3- 

32+ 


Cents. 

13+ 

26+ 

113+ 

2+ 

10- 

2+ 

4- 

31- 


Cents. 

12+ 

26+ 

113+ 

3- 

10- 

3- 

4- 

31+ 


Cents. 
16+ 


Butter 


26- 


Cheese 


U3+ 


I^our 


2+ 


Lard 


14- 


Meal 


2+ 


Sugar 8 . . 


4+ 


Teas 


31- 







i Based on years ended June. 

2 Sugar duty imposed at $1.01 in 1901; reduced from $1.01 to .45 in 1908. 

3 Duty raised from 8 cents to 12 cents in 1900, and reduced from 12 cents to 10 cents in 1906. 

Note. — Prices given are wholesale, and mostly at port, and are only for relative comparison. 
Based on an average weekly family grocery order. 



Say of— 



1898 



1906 



1908 



1910 



1 pound bacon . . 

2 pounds butter. 
J pound cheese. . 
12 pounds flour. 

| pound lard 

1 pound meal . . . 
4 pounds sugar.. 
J pound tea 



Cents. 
10- 

45+ 
5+ 

33+ 
3+ 
2+ 

12- 

16+ 



Total of 21 J pounds would cost. 



L.30- 



Cents. 

13+ 

51+ 

7- 

26+ 

5- 

2+ 

15- 

15+ 



Cents. 

12+ 

52+ 

7- 

31- 

5- 

3- 

15- 

16- 



L.37- 



$1.42+ 



Cents. 

16+ 

51+ 

7- 

30- 

7- 

2+ 

16+ 

15+ 



,47- 



Per cent. 

Increased cost for 1906 over 1898 5. 37 

Increased cost for 1908 over 1898 9. 95 

Increased cost for 1910 over 1898 13. 36 

On the basis of the average weekly family order above, $4.86 in 1898 would 
buy 80.81 pounds weight; in 1906, 76.69 pounds weight; in 1908, 73.49 pounds 
weight; in 1910, 71.29 pounds weight. 

Coal (per ton). 





1898 


1906 


1908 


1910 


Average house coal at pit-mouth prices 


$2.42 


$2.62 


$3.22 


$3.22 







Increased cost for 1906 over 1898, 7.95 per cent; 1908 and 1910 over 1898, 
33.05 per cent. 

The following table shows the prices of 16 necessary items of living expenses 
as compiled by an officer of the Huddersfield Industrial Society (Ltd.) for 1816, 
1895, and 1910. The prices stated are for a good article. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 
Prices paid in Huddersfield. 



199 



In 1816. 


In 1895. 


$1.95 


$0.53 


.24 


.04 


.32 


.05 


.18 


.09 


.49 


.36 


.85 


.36 


.24 


.10 


.24 


.08 


.05 


.02 


.06 


.02 


.36 


.06 


.16 


.08 


1.30 


.10 


2.68 


1.14 


3.16 


.85 


.12 


.05 



In 1910. 



Black tea per pound . 

Raw sugar do . . . 

Lump sugar do. . . 

Candles do. . . 

Mustard do . . . 

Coffee do... 

Starch do... 

Currants do . . . 

Ginger per ounce. 

Pepper do . . . 

Nutmegs do... 

Vinegar per quart. 

Salt per stone . 

Brown soap do . . . 

Mottled soap do. . . 

Pins per sheet . 



$0.53 
.06 
.06 
.12 
.41 
.41 
.10 
.09 
.02 
.025 
.06 
.07 
.06 
.92 
.85 
.05 



Copartnership in the Huddersfield District. 
[From the Yorkshire Observer of February, 1911.] 

Anything which tends in the direction of improving the relations between 
capital and labor is an economic gain. In the West Riding there are quite a 
number of firms who give to their employees a bonus in proportion to the 
amount of the year's profits, and that may be said to be the acceptance of the 
principle of profit sharing. But those firms who have gone so far as to give a 
bonus in the form of shares in the concern in order that the workpeople may 
acquire a " capitalistic " interest in its welfare are as yet few. Of such schemes 
the two most interesting are probably those of Taylors, of Batley, and Thom- 
sons, of Huddersfield, the promoters of which in each instance were pioneers in 
the movement. 

An eight-hour day and no overtime, a fixed rate of wages with $6.33 a week 
as the minimum for able-bodied men, direct representation of the workers (who 
are shareholders as well) upon the directorate, a sick fund which gives sus- 
tenance in times of ill health, and a pension fund which provides support in old 
age — these are the main features of the democratic and humane plan upon 
which the concern of Messrs. William Thomson & Sons (Ltd.), woolen manufac- 
turers, Huddersfield, is organized and conducted. It may be broadly said that 
the basic principles upon which the business stands are Ruskinian in character, 
and it follows, therefore, that they are not one-sided in application and effect. 
Ethics as well as economics are involved — there must be honesty in production 
and exchange, as well as humanity in the treatment of the producer. 

The essence of the scheme is copartnership, every person cooperating con- 
sciously and constantly, not only with the single object of promoting the pros- 
perity of himself and his fellow producers, but also of producing the best article 
that the materials upon which he works in the manner of his trade are capable 
of being made into. It was from the economics of Carlyle, Ruskin, and others 
of the modern school that Mr. George Thomson, now mayor of Huddersfield, 
deduced his ideas and ideals for the conversion of the business into a copartner- 
ship undertaking, and, about a quarter of a century having elapsed since he took 
that step, we are now able to view and analyze the scheme with that confidence 
which is born of the knowledge that it has stood the test of time. 

Upon Ruskin's teachings as to the relation of economic production to the 
wider aims of human life Mr. Thomson brought his business instinct and prac- 
tical experience to bear, and when, in 1886, the conversion was made the 
methods adopted received the benediction of several eminent and industrial 
philosophers, including Ruskin himself. The great economist was then well on 
the way to 70 years of age, and he wrote to Mr. Thomson in terms of bright 
optimism : " I have been steadily advancing in strength — hope — and lately even 
in youthful enjoyments of former work — and contiuance of it on the old terms," 
he stated. " ' Praeterita ' is advancing fast toward the part in which I shall 
resume the course of thought which led to writing 'Unto This Last' — and to 
throw what I was able to say confusedly into more intelligent and open form. 
But "without your practical faith and power nothing could have been yet done." 
When Mr. Thomson embarked upon his new enterprise he realized that it meant 



200 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

the subordination of the accumulation of wealth to the wider interests of man, 
and his advice to-day is that those who imagine that to translate Ruskin's 
teachings into actions means a more subtle way of realizing a big fortune are as 
doomed to disappointment as the sparks fly upward. It is not for them, for 
they catch not the spirit of it. The heads of such businesses can live comfort- 
ably, but would-be millionaires must look elsewhere for the wealth they covet. 

A. fundamental ethic of Messrs. Thomson & Sons' business is " all wool — no 
shoddy." When the change was made in the constitution of the concern it 
was registered under the friendly societies act, and right down the years 5 per 
cent invariably has been paid upon share capital. This has been done not- 
withstanding the fact that at times no profit was made. It was these lean 
years, however, that proved the real strength and stability of the movement. 
What a contrast with the industrial jealousy and strife which so often dis- 
turb the field of ordinary capitalistic enterprises is this: When profits were 
nil some shareholders returned their dividends, but they were not accepted, 
the workpeople spontaneously providing sufficient money on two occasions to 
pay the usual 5 per cent interest, and on anpther occasion paying one-half of the 
dividend, while the remainder was taken from the reserve fund. 

The share capital in the concern is $56,495, and of that amount $10,122 is 
held by the 120 or 130 workpeople.. The concern has also loan capital almost 
equal in amount to the share capital, and on this the rate of interest is 4 per 
cent. As the result of last year's working, when the sales were in excess of those 
of any previous year since the registration of the concern, $16,342 (including 
$1,100 brought forward) was avaiklble for distribution after following the 
usual 10 per cent for depreciation, and paying interest on loans. Only two 
figures need be mentioned here to indicate the stability of the concern — the 
reserve fund now stands at $11,680 and the machinery and fixtures, which 
originally cost $47,954, have been so constantly depreciated that they now 
stand in the accounts at about one-ninth of that amount. 

Not only are the workpeople shareholders, but they have a voice in the 
management of the concern, their shares carrying votes at the half-yearly and 
annual meetings, whilst two of the workers in the ordinary grades of employ- 
ment are elected onto the board of directors. The advantages of an eight- 
hour day have long been enjoyed, and piecework is but a fading memory, the 
principle of fixed wages for all and no overtime having been established 
many years ago. Everyone gets a week's holiday in August, and, whether busy 
or slack, the workpeople never go on short wages. After the usual percentage 
has been paid upon capital and allocations have been made to reserve, depre- 
ciation, and sick and pension funds, labor profits in proportion to the amount 
of salary or wages received. As a result of good trade experienced last year and 
at the present time, all wages lately have been increased by 5 per cent. Under 
the assurance and pension fund a full week's wage is first paid in all cases of 
sickness or accident, and afterwards the patient receives half wages until 
convalescent. 

In the case of death occurring before the expiration of one month from the 
receipt of sick or accident pay the widow or family of the deceased person 
receives a sum of not less than $48.67 in the case of a man and $24.33 in the 
case of a woman. Married women are not employed ; upon marrying a woman 
is required to cease work, and she receives a grant of $24.33 if she has been 
employed by the firm for not less than five years and one of $48.67 for 10 
years' or longer service. Besides all this there is the pension fund. Pensions 
may be paid to men at the age of 64, and to women at the age of 50, but men 
at 70 and women at»55 are required compulsorily to retire on pension. The 
pensions — in which a few thousand pounds have already been paid — range 
from $2.92 to $5.84 per week for men, and from $1.22 to $1.95 a week for 
women. The firm now has five male and four female pensioners on its books. 
Two otber institutions, which contribute in some degree to the comfort and 
happiness of the workpeople are a reading room and women's guild, both 
situated on the mill premises. 

The mill is a model for cleanliness and orderliness, as well as for its ad- 
vanced system of copartnership, and the happy family of workpeople who spend 
eight hours a day on the premises are of a type which will compare favorably 
with those of any other factory in the West Riding. The workers generally 
are healthy and comfortable, and there is not one who would not be very 
reluctant to return to the precarious and less humane conditions of employ- 
ment which generally obtain in industrial life. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 201 

Ruskin and Modern Business. 
[From the Spectator.] 

Brantwood, Conistone, Lancashire, November 5, 1886. 

Dear Mr. Thomson : I can not enough thank you or express the depth of my 
pleasure in the announcement made in your letter to Mrs. Severn of the mo- 
mentous and absolutely foundational step taken by you in all that is just and 
wise in the establishment of these relations with your workmen. 

I may, perhaps, live yet to see " the pleasure of the Lord prosper in your 
hand " — for though making no sign I have been steadily advancing in strength, 
hope, and, lately, even in youthful enjoyments of former work and con- 
tinuance of it on the old terms. 

" Prseterita *' is advancing fast toward the part on which I shall resume the 
course of thought which led to writing " Unto This Last," and to throw what I 
was able to say confusedly into more intelligent and open form. 

But without your practical power and faith nothing could have been yet 
done. • 

Ever, your grateful John Ruskin. 

We imagine that there is much vagueness of thought on the part of many 
who sympathize with the economic teachings of the late Mr. Ruskin, as there 
is also no little ignorance of what he really meant on the part of those" who 
opposed him. We can hardly hold Ruskin himself responsible for this, since 
very few writers have ever used clearer language, and since his mind, fortified 
by an immense storehouse of facts, was, as he was proud to think, of high 
analytic power. There is one point on which his economic gospel was at- 
tacked, first, by political economists, and, then, when their opposition had 
slackened, by a kind of combination of Podsnap and Gradgrind — it had no. 
relation to the facts of the business situation and could not be adjusted to the 
demands of British commerce. Seeing that the essence of Mr. Ruskin's gospel, 
as distinct from its vagaries, was a simple demand for honesty in the first 
place, and for the relation of economic production to the wider aims of human 
life, these objections seem to reflect on British commerce and the business 
situation, as implying that they could not quite be conformed to honest deal- 
ing, or that buying and selling were things by themselves, having no relation 
to all the other aspects of human life. Now, if Ruskin had merely evolved 
some new scheme of industry or trading out of his moral consciousness and 
without reference to human nature as we know it, we might be tempted for 
once to agree with Podsnap and Gradgrind and wave the vague theory aside 
as unfit for this world, however it might suit a new Atlantis or a city of the sun. 
But, as we shall show immediately, Mr. Ruskin's work in economics, while 
recognized (as the new Dictionary of Political Economy shows) by professed 
economic thinkers, has been taken up by eager and intelligent business men 
with the happiest results. Ruskin, with a modesty which he did not always 
exhibit, derived his ideas on social questions from Carlyle. Now, in economics 
Carlyle's great remedy for the evils of society was to get the great " captains 
of industry " to be really captains, to lead their battalions of workers, to 
sympathize with them, to care for them, while commanding them in their con- 
flict with the forces of nature. From that simple germinal idea Ruskin de- 
duced a kind of " whole duty of man " in regard t© economics, and so evolved 
a new system of industry based not, as is ignorantly supposed, on the abolition 
of machinery, but on the twofold principle of complete honesty and veracity 
in production and exchange, and in a due subordination of the production of 
wealth to the wider aims of man. The question is whether this is feasible. 

That question has been answered by the report, balance sheets, and statement 
of accounts of the firm of Messrs. William Thomson & Sons (Ltd.), of Hudders- 
field, which lie before us. This is a woolen firm employing 150 persons, and 
reorganized on what might broadly be called Ruskinian principles. The prime 
agent in the conversion of the firm, Mr. George Thomson, is both a sincere and 
intelligent disciple of Ruskin, his moral nature grasping Ruskin's essential 
ideas, and his business instinct knowng what to reject as Impracticable or 
unimportant. We must premise, however, that this method is not one for 
realizing a big fortune — that, indeed, is its merit. The heads of the business 
can live, and live well, but they can not be, as they do not wish to be, million- 
aires. In this, as in everything else, " ye can not serve God and mammon." 
Those who think that the adoption of Ruskin's ideas means a more subtle way 



202 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

of making one's pile may pass on; this is not for them. The essence of the 
scheme is copartnership, every person conscientiously and willingly cooperating 
to a worthy end, viz, the production of the best and most honest article that 
can be produced in the trade. When the business changed over it was regis- 
tered under the Friendly Societies Act, and there was a public inaugural cere 
mony. A storm was raised by customers, but Mr. Thomson stood to his guns, 
and the opposition has now largely died away. During the 13 or 14 years 
which have elapsed since the industrial partnership was established the firm 
has sold high-class -goods (all wool, no shoddy) worth $1,727,272, and has 
always paid 5 per cent interest on capital. 

On two occasions the profits did not really allow of this, but it was paid all 
the same, by the workers in the first instance, quite spontaneously, while in 
the second instance half was pai*l by the workers and half was taken from 
the reserve fund. Even the most blear-eyed disciple of Podsnappery must 
admit that this is as superior to, as it is different from, the normal jealousy 
of the average capitalist and workman, each ready for lockout or strike, and 
each only too eager to make as much out of the other while giving as little in 
return. Now, in addition to the total sales that have been effected, it may be 
said that the original cost of the plant has been written off, a reserve fund 
provided for, and a sick pay and pension fund introduced from which workers 
are paid half their wages until convalescent, and aged people who have retired 
about the same. So the old-age pension scheme is solved there, as it might be 
in many another place if only the basic principles of honesty and humane con- 
sideration obtained. 

But this Huddersfield concern has gone further still in Ruskinian economics, 
adopting not only the eight-hour day, but the principle of fixed wages for all, 
so that it is really a working or industrial partnership ; and this is so success- 
ful that it is no longer an experiment, but a finally established fact. The 
pieceworkers were averaged for two previous years, and all were fixed at the 
average. As regards the profits, shares are credited to the workers at 5 per 
cent, and Mr. Thomson's own proportion of the profit is upon his salary or 
wage. If 36 cents in the ($4.87) is declared on wages, each takes in propor- 
tion, whether he is receiving $48.66 per week or $2.43; the former $3.65, the 
latter 18 cents. The result of the adoption of the eight-hour day has been to 
give this firm some of the healthiest and best workers of any place in England. 
In a word, all the workers are satisfied, and none would go back to the precarious 
and nonethical conditions which obtain generally in industrial life. Some of 
Ruskin's business methods, at any rate, pay in the truest sense of the word, 
even if you can not turn yourself into a millionaire by their adoption, and it 
is well that this should be proved. 

For, in we had to admit that Ruskin's ethical principles (which are but the 
partial application of the teachings of a greater than Rnskin) were useless in 
the business life, we should have to admit that the tremendous problem of 
capital and labor can never be solved, but that society must look forward to 
more and more frightful convulsions until its very foundations are well-nigh 
wrecked. If the Haves and the Havenots are to scramble between them for an 
unallotted surplus with threats and blows, or by the cajolery of politicians who 
will take this or that side, according as the cat seems about to jump, then the 
outlook is black, indeed, for all that implies mere force and the absence of the 
determining moral factor. In a sense Ruskin was certainly a great revolu- 
tionary thinker, but his revolution was to be accomplished by moral evolution, 
by living and doing the right. If that does not succeed — 

The pillar'd firmament is rottenness, 
And Earth's base built on stubble. 



Huddersfield Cooperative Farmers' Association. 

[Dairy Farmers' Supply Co. (Ltd.), 11 Byram Street, Huddersfield, Oliver Oxley, 

secretary. 1 

The Dairy Farmers' Supply Co. (Ltd.) is a cooperative enterprise consisting 
of from 40 to 50 members, mostly small farmers engaged in dairy farming and 
market gardening in the vicinity of Huddersfield. The object of the company 
is to carry on business as farmers' provender dealers, to purchase, prepare, and 
deal in Indian corn, wheat, oats, barley, feeding cakes, hay, straw, agricultural 
seeds, manures, agricultural implements and machinery, and other kinds of 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 203 

provender, goods and foods used in connection with the keeping and feeding of 
cows, horses, pigs, and other animals. Purchases are made from large English 
wholesale dealers by two or more directors selected for the purpose. After the 
grain has been delivered at Huddersfield it is ground up into meal by the com- 
pany, thus adding to the original cost price the expense of labor, etc., entailed 
in the grinding and in the distribution of the product to the members. The 
society sells meal also to nonmembers, but at a slightly advanced price. It is 
claimed on behalf of the cooperative plan that, although the cost of meal to 
members of the society may sometimes be greater than that for which it can be 
purchased from other sources, still the members have the means of knowing 
that the food has not been adulterated or mixed with inferior ingredients. By 
knowing the quality and kinds of food supplies purchased they are enabled to 
judge how the different foods affect the health of the cattle. It is further 
claimed that, while it benefits the members in enabling them to feed their cattle 
the best and purest food upon the market, it is of benefit to nonmembers, inas- 
much as it prevents private dealers from selling foodstuffs at unreasonable 
profits. 

The annual turnover of the local society is from $9,733 to $14,600. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Frederick I. Bright, Consul. 

Huddersfield, England. 



SURSLEM, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

Cooperative Societies, 
stoke-on-trent, staffordshire (population 234,553). 

The Burslem and District Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) is now the 
only association of its kind in the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent since its 
absorption of the Stoke Cooperative Society in June, 1911. 

The Burslem Cooperative Society began in February, 1901, with 150 members. 
It was started by six or eight citizens who had seen the results of the coopera- 
tive system in other counties. They held a public meeting at which 200 work- 
ing people agreed to become members. Membership involves the subscription 
of one £1 ($4.87) share, and in accordance with the laws of Great Britain no one 
member is permitted to subscribe for more than 200 shares. Since the incep- 
tion of this society 5 per cent interest has been paid on these shares and the 
membership has grown from 390, with a total share capital of £346 ($1,684), 
to a membership of 5,972, with a total share capital of £25,869 ($125,989). 
The sales during the first year averaged about £50 ($243) per week, and at 
the present time amount to £2,200 ($10,706) weekly. For the quarter ending 
September 4, 1911, the dividend on members' purchases of £27,250 ($132,612) 
at Is. lOd. (45 cents) in the £1 ($4.87) amounted to £2,497 18s. 4d. ($12,156). 
(Inclosure No. 1 is a tabulation showing the growth of the company.) 

As to the organization, there are a president, general manager and secretary, 
together with a general committee of 10 members. 

Each purchaser is given a check with his number showing the amount of 
his purchase. Nonmembers have their checks identified by a distinguishing 
mark (N.-M.). The business terms are: Drapery and boots, cash; bread, one 
week's credit; groceries, one order to be paid for before another is sent out. 
Goods are delivered by motor and will be sent on approval, but must be paid 
for in three days. Groceries form the principal item of business. There are 
17 branches, 3 of which sell drapery, shoes, and clothing. There are also sepa- 
rate branches for bread and coal. Orders for coal may be handed in at any 
of the branches and a dividend check issued on the purchase. A penny bank- 
ing system is in operation at the central and branch stores, which are open 
for deposits on Saturdays only. Arrangements have been made with three 
dentists whereby members may receive dividend checks on artificial teeth, and 
dividends may furthermore be obtained on spectacles, drugs, medical appliances, 
and sundries by arrangement with a local dealer. 

Much of their goods is purchased from the Cooperative Wholesale Society, 
which has its headquarters in Manchester. The Burslem Cooperative Society 
sustains the same relation to the wholesale society that a member does to the 
Burslem organization, as the profits of the wholesale society are distributed 



204 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

to the retail societies in proportion to their purchases. The Burslem Society 
also invests a large amount of its capital in shares of the Cooperative Whole- 
sale Society. 

CANNOCK, STAFFORDSHIRE (POPULATION 54,622). 

The Cannock & District Cooperative Society (Ltd.) was organized in 1890. 
It has a membership of 2,100 and a shareholders' capital of £12,820 ($62,389). 
It has increased from a membership of 190 and a share capital of £268 ($1,304) 
which it had at the time of its organization. Its sales have increased from 
£2,744 ($13,354) in 1890 to £45,814 ($222,954) in 1910. An entrance fee of Is. 
(24 cents) is charged. Each member must take up at least one transferable 
share. 

A dividend of Is. lOd. (45 cents) in the £1 ($4.87) was declared for the quar- 
ter ending October 3, 1911, on members' purchases of £11,000 ($53,531) and a 
dividend of 9d. (18 cents) in the £1 ($4.87) on nonmembers' purchases of £320 
($1,557). The average purchase per member for the quarter was £5 10s. 8d. 
($26.92). 

It has five branches, and the usual departments of grocery, provisions, 
bakery, etc. 

CONGLETON, CHESHIRE (POPULATION 11,330). 

The Congleton Equitable & Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) was or- 
ganized in 1860. Its sales in 1860 amounted to £564 ($2,745) and a dividend 
of Is. 7d. (38£ cents) was declared. In 1877 it had 850 members with a share 
capital of £4,297 ($.20,911), its sales amounted to £25,000 ($121,662), and the 
dividend was 2s. 2d. (53 cents) in the £1 ($4.87). It has now 3,100 members, 
with a share capital of £30,276 ($147,338). Its sales during 1910 amounted to 
£91,854 ($447,007). 

Any person over 16 years of age may become a member on payment of 
Is. 3d. (30 cents) entrance fee. Each member must hold three £1 ($4.87) 
shares. If this £3 ($14.60) is not paid as an initial fee, 3s. 3d. (79 cents) is 
deducted each quarter from the member's share of the profits, so that the sum 
is paid in this way in 4£ years. Interest at 5 per cent is given on each 
paid-up £1 ($4.87) share. The net profits on trading are divided among the 
members at so much in the £1 ($4.87), according to the amount of goods pur- 
chased by them. Stocks are taken and profits declared each quarter. The 
average dividend last year was 3s. 3£d. (80 cents) in the £1 ($4.87) to mem- 
bers. Nonmembers are allowed Id. (2 cents) in the £1 ($4.87) as discount at 
the time of making a purchase, except for coal and butcher's and colonial meats. 

The productive industries carried on by the society are: Dressmaking, mil- 
linery, boot repairing, tailoring, and bread baking. 

There are six branches for groceries, one of which sells other goods as well. 
Besides these, there is a colonial meat shop and department for butchering, 
furnishing, and coal. 

Its purchases from cooperative sources were as follows: 

* Per cent. 

Grocery S4+ 

Drapery 45f 

Boots 88^ 

Clothing 53 

Furnishing 86£ 

Colonial meat DO* 

Total 82f 

The penny bank department has 2,378 depositors, whose deposits amount to 
£7,716 ($37,550). 

LEEK, STAFFORDSHIRE (POPULATION 47,379). 

The Leek & Moorlands Cooperative Society (Ltd.) was established in 1S59, 
but no records are available prior to 1879. There were 273 members at that 
time with a share capital of £410 ($1,995). The membership has increased to 
2,791 with a share capital of £21,362 ($103,598). The sales have increased from 
£5,768 ($28,070) in 1879 to £56,710 ($275,979) in 1910. The dividend in 1879 
was 2s. 4^d- (58 cents) and is now 2s. 6d. (61 cents) in the £1 ($4.87). Ex- 
penses have increased from £638 ($3,105) in 1884 to £3,702 ($18,016) in 1910. 
The average purchases per member during the quarter ending August 31, 1911, 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 205 

were £5 15s. ($27.98). The number of members trading in the drapery and 
boot department was 1,469, and their average purchases amounted to 18s. 4d. 
($4.46). Members must invest at least £5 ($24.33) on which 5 per cent interest 
is paid. No sales were made to nonmembers. 

MAYFIELD, STAFFORDSHIRE (POPULATION 5,000). 

The Mayfield Cooperative Society has 209 members, and a shareholders' capi- 
tal of £11,076 ($53,901). 

For the quarter ending September 20, 1911, a dividend of 2s. 5d. (59 cents) 
in the £1 ($4.87) was declared on members' purchases of £1,601 2s. 3d. ($7,792) 
and a dividend of Is. ljd. (27 cents) in the £1 ($4.87) on nonmembers' pur- 
chases of £6 8s. Id. ($31.16). 

OSWESTRY, SHROPSHIRE (POPULATION 24,304). 

The Oswestry Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) was organized in 1870. 
There are 930 members with a share capital of £4,089 ($19,899). The sales for 
the quarter ending September 30, 1911, amounted to £3,886 ($18,911) and the 
average purchases per member for the quarter were £4 3s. 6|d. ($20.33). For 
the same quarter a dividend was declared of Is. 8d. (40 cents) in the £1 ($4.87) 
on members' purchases of £3,575 ($17,398) and a dividend of lOd. (20 cents) 
in the £1 ($4.87) on nonmembers' purchases of £30 ($146). The average pur- 
chases per member were £4 3s. 7d. ($20.34). Its purchases during the quarter 
were as follows: Wholesale cooperative society, £2,718 ($13,127); cooperative 
productive societies, £67 ($326) ; other sources, £520 ($2,531). 

It has a central grocery and two branch stores, also departments for boots 
and drapery, coal, baking, and for boot and shoe repairing. 

There is no entrance fee, and all members and their wives are insured free 
of charge. This company pays 4 per cent on its share capital. 

SANDBACH, CHESHIRE (POPULATION 8,976). 

The Sandbach Industrial Cooperative Society was organized in 1861. It has 
a membership of 2,120 and a shareholders' capital of £31,355 ($152,589). It 
has increased from 143 members in 1871, at which time the share capital was 
£314 ($1,528). The total sales in 1861 were £1,451 ($7,061), with a dividend 
of Is (24 cents) ; in 1871 the total sales were £3.837 ($18,673), with a dividend 
of Is. lOd. (45 cents) ; in 1910 they were £61,233 ($29,799), with a dividend of 
3s. 2d. (77 cents) in the £1 ($4.87). 

A dividend of 3s. 2d. (77 cents) in the pound was declared for the quarter 
ending September 5, 1911, on members' purchases of £15,644 ($76,131) and a 
dividend of Is. 8d. (40 cents) to nonmembers. It has five branches. 

" Interest shall not be allowed on members' shares whose purchases do not 
amount to £2 10s. ($12.26) per cent per quarter of their invested capital, on 
which more than 3 per cent per annum interest is paid, with minimum pur- 
chases of £1 ($4.87) per quarter. On conforming with the above percentage 
members shall receive, out of the profits of the society, after providing for the 
expenses thereof in each quarter, interest upon their paid-up shares as follows: 
£1 ($4.87) to £10 ($48.66), 5 per cent per annum; £11 ($53.53) to £100 ($486.65), 
4£ per cent per annum; £101 ($491.51) to £200 ($973.30), 3 per cent per annum. 

Any member not being clear on the books at the end of each quarter shall 
be charged interest at the rate of 3d. (6 cents) for every 15s. ($3.65) owing to 
the society." 

SHREWSBURY, SHROPSHIRE (POPULATION 31,920). 

The Shrewsbury Cooperative Society was organized in 1894. It has 2,315 
members and a shareholders' capital of £13,756 ($66,944). 

For the quarter ending October 9, 1911, a dividend of 2s. (48 cents) in the 
£1 ($4.87) was declared on members' purchases of £12,300 ($59,S58), and a 
dividend of Is. (24 cents) in the £1 ($4.87) on the nonmembers' purchases of 
£80 ($389). 

There are a central grocery and three branch stores, also departments for 
drapery and clothing, boots, bread, and coal. Futhermore, members can be 
supplied with commodities from commission tradesmen (meat, milk, clocks, 
jewelry, piano tuning) which will bear dividend at the current rate. 



206 COOPEKATION AND THE. COST OF LIVING. 

To a member wishing to buy or build his own house the society is prepared 
to advance three-fourths of the purchase price, with a limit of not more than 
£300 ($1,460) to any one member. Interest is at 4 per cent, repayable in 20 
years or less, as agreed upon. 

The amount of purchases for the quarter ending October 7, 1911, was divided 
as follows: Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.), £6,599 6s. 9d. ($32,116); 
Cooperative Production Societies, £172 12s. 6d. ($840) ; other sources, £1,052 
15s. 9d. ($5,123). 

SILVERDALE, STAFFED SHIRE («ILYERDALE COOPERATIVE SOCIETY). 

No statistics are available in regard to the sales, number of members, etc. 

This society has a committee on management of 12 members. One member 
is elected by ballot at each quarterly meeting to serve three years. If a mem- 
ber of the committee becomes bankrupt he must resign. No member can be 
on the committee unless he has £5 ($24.33) worth of shares and has spent 
£16 ($77.86) or more during the 12 months previous to his election. He must 
also continue to spend the same amount during his term of office. Committee 
meetings are held weekly. 

In order to* secure the 5 per cent interest on shares the members' purchases 
per quarter must amount to £1 ($4.87) on a share capital of £1 ($4.87) to 
£5 ($24.33) ; £2 ($9.73) on a share capital of £5 ($24.33) to £10 ($48.66) ; 
£2 10s. ($12.16) on a share capital of £10 ($48.66) to £20 ($97.33) ; £3 ($14.59) 
on a share capital of £20 ($97.33) to £30 ($145.99) ; £4 ($19.46) on a share 
capital of £30 ($145.99) to £60 ($291.99) ; £5 ($24.33) on a share capital of 
£60 ($291.99) to £80 ($389.32) ; £6 ($29.20) on a share capital of £80 ($389.32) 
to £100 ($486.65). 

Interest on capital held over the above scale of purchases is at the rate of 
2| per cent per annum. 

Any member holding shares and who ceases to trade with the society for 
more than 13 weeks is fined 3d. (6 cents) per month. 

Profits are divided quarterly, but no member who has less than 2 shares 
shall be allowed to receive either interest or dividend. These are added to the 
amount he has subscribed toward his shares until 2 shares of £1 ($4.87) are 
paid for. Any member having 2 and less than 5 shares shall not receive 
more than three-fourths of his profit, the balance being added until he has 
paid for 5 shares at £1 ($4.87). 

STAFFORD, STAFFORDSHIRE (POPULATION 35,164). 

The Stafford Industrial Cooperative Society was organized in 1S97. Since 
then the membership has increased from 1,191 to 2,203, the share capital from 
£9,000 ($43,788) to £13,000 ($63,264), the sales from £24,000 ($116,796) to 
£39,000 ($189,793), and the average trade per capita from £5 ($24.33) to £9 
($43.80). 

For the half year ending April, 1911, the dividend was 2s. (24 cents) in the 
£1 ($4.87) on members' purchases of £17,850 ($86,867) and 9s. ($2.19) in the 
£1 ($4.87) on nonmembers' purchases of £40 ($195) ; 2\ per cent of the profits 
were devoted to the reserve fund and 1 per cent for educational purposes. 

There are five branches of the central stores, two drapery and boot branches, 
a butcher's shop together with a " hides, skins, and fats " shop, a bakery and 
confectionery shop, and a coal depot. 

An exhibition was held this year at Stafford, where the goods shown were 
made by the Cooperative Wholesale Co. (Ltd.). 

TIBBERTON, SHROPSHIRE (POPULATION 1,494). 

The Tibberton Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) was established in 1876. 
It has 56 members with a share capital of £105 ($511). 

CREWE, CHESHIRE (POPULATION 44,970). 

The Crewe Cooperative Friendly Society was established in 1845 and is the 
largest cooperative society in this district. No statistics are available prior 
to 1894. The number of members for the March quarter of that year was 
5,287, with a share capital of £104,626 ($509,162), and the present number is 
10,674, with a share capital of £168,727 ($821,110). The sales have increased 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 207 

from £49,428 ($240,541) for the March quarter 1894 to £84,367 ($410,572) for 
the quarter ending September, 1911, and the dividend from 2s. 4d. (57 cents) 
to 2s. 9d. (67 cents) in the £1 ($4.87). 

Besides its warehouse and central stores it has 17 branches. Three of these 
branches sell drapery-, one millinery, and two boots and shoes. At the central 
store there are departments for drapery, millinery, dressmaking, tailoring, 
ready-made clothing, furnishing, cabinet making, hardware, glass, china and 
earthenware, mantles, and jewelry, as well as the usual groceries and provi- 
sions. Its total purchases during the quarter ending September, 1911, amounted 
to £65,134 ($316,974), of which £48,292 ($235,013) were from cooperative 
sources, and the following are the proportionate rates per cent : Grocery, 81 
per cent ; drapery, 79 per cent ; shoes, 89 per cent ; bakery, 94 per cent ; tailor- 
ing, 70 per cent; ready mades, 83 per cent; millinery, 82 per cent; furniture, 
68 per cent ; fish and green grocery, 30 per cent ; jewelry, 37 per cent ; mantles, 
79 per cent; gentlemen's outfitting, 67 per cent; crockery, etc., 31 per cent; 
coal, 82 per cent. 

The investments of this society are £9,035 ($43,969) in shares, of which £7.890 
($38,397) is in shares of -the Cooperative Wholesale Society; £6,998 ($34,056) 
in ordinary loans, of which £6.300 ($30,659) is to the Cooperative Wholesale 
Society. It has also invested in Crewe £67,675 ($329,340) in secured loans. 
It also owns 110 cottages, the present nominal value of which is £14,623 
($71,163). 

OTHER COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN THIS DISTRICT. 

It has not been possible to obtain any data in regard to the following coop- 
erative societies in this district: Butt Lane and Cheadle, in Staffordshire; 
Winsford, in Cheshire; Ellesmere, St. Martins, Whitechurch, and Prees, in 
Shropshire. 

PRIVATE COOPERATIVE INSTITUTIONS. 

There are two or three private cooperative institutions in this district that 
guarantee dividends, varying from Is. lOd. (45 cents) to 3s. 9d. (91 cents) in 
the £1 ($4.87). These were individual retailers who had felt the competition 
of the cooperative societies in their own or neighboring towns. In stead of 
cutting prices they decided to work their business on cooperative lines. 

One of these concerns, which guarantees the largest dividend, determines 
the selling price of an article by adding a margin of profit of 10 per cent to the 
cost price of goods, such as groceries and provisions, 5 per cent for working 
expenses, and 16 per cent, or 3s. 4d. (81 cents), in the £1 ($4.87), as the mem- 
bers' dividend. On drapery goods a net profit margin of 45 per cent is added 
to the cost price. The terms are cash on delivery, and the supplies handled 
are groceries, provisions, baking, drapery, ironmongery, crockery, furniture, 
brushes, etc. 

ji RELATION OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES AND RETAILERS. 

The relation between the cooperative societies and retailers is that which 
usually exists between competitors. The retailers' chief cause of complaint is 
that the cooperative societies do not have to pay any income tax. 

WHOLESALE COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES. 

There are no wholesale cooperative societies in this district. The Wholesale 
Cooperative Society in Manchester has its crockery department here, but it is 
a purchasing and distributing agency rather than a producing plant. The 
cooperative wholesale society acts as the bankers for most of societies in this 
district. 

THE RELATION BETWEEN WHOLESALE AND RETAIL COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES. 

Cooperative societies in this district purchase 82 per cent from the Coopera- 
tive Wholesale Society of Manchester, and from 1 per cent to 2 per cent from 
other cooperative sources. The societies mentioned in this report have invested 
£24,973 ($121,531) in shares of the wholesale societies, of which £23,043 
($112,139) is invested in shares of the cooperative wholesale society paying 5 
per cent interest. They have invested £40,973 ($199,395) in loans to wholesale 
societies, of which £39,359 ($191,540) is invested at 3 J per cent with the coop- 



208 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



erative wholesale society. The Congleton Society alone has invested £17,770 
($86,477) of this amount. 

Most of the cooperative societies in this district are members of the Coopera- 
tive Union (Ltd.). The Burslem Society contributes to it for each member 
lfd. (3£ cents) per annum. 

COST OF LIVING. 

Cooperative societies in this district derive their chief patronage from the 
working classes. Many workers feel that the real profits of these societies are 
consumed in the management and that excessive prices are charged to insure 
dividends. 

The societies admit that they do not sell as cheaply as some of the local re- 
tailers, but claim that their goods are of superior quality, and that their divi- 
dends reduce the cost of living to members. Discriminating members may re- 
duce the cost of living by purchasing from the cooperative societies only those 
articles which are sold there at the same price as elsewhere, in which case the 
dividend actually represents a gain. 

November 27, 1911. Roger C. Teedwell, 

Vice Consul in Charge. 

[Inclosure with report dated Nov. 27, 1911, on cooperative societies and cost of living, from Burslem, 

England.] 

Comparative statement of the progress of the Burslem and District Industrial 

Cooperative Society {Ltd.). 



Year ending 


Number of 


Share capital. 


Sales. 


Net profit. 


March — 


members. 


Value. 


Equivalent. 


Value. 


Equivalent. 


Value. 


Equivalent. 


1902 


390 

483 

707 

1,106 

1,270 

1,477 

2,173 

2,591 

• 3,094 

3,922 


£346 
644 

1,644 

2,728 

4,214 

5.694 

8,581 

10, 769 

13, 330 

18, 675 


$1,684 
3,134 
8,000 
13,276 
20, 507 
27, 710 
41,759 
52,407 
64, 870 
90, 882 


£3,791 
6,003 
11,044 
20, 149 
25, 172 
29, 230 
44,102 
54, 038 
61,971 
77, 167 


$18, 449 

29, 214 

53, 745 

98, 055 

122, 499 

142, 248 

214, 623 

262, 976 

301,581 

375, 533 


£198 
485 
974 
1,437 
1,848 
2,650 
3, 538 
3,917 
5,712 
8,074 


$964 


1903 


2,360 


1904 


4,740 


1905 - 


6,993 


1906 .' 


8,993 


1907 


12, 896 


1908 


17,218 


1909 


19,062 


1910 


27, 797 


1911 


39, 292 








Average dividend. 


Reserve fund. 


Wages. 


Debts. 


Year ending March — 


Value. 


Equiva- 
lent. 


Value. 


Equiva- 
lent. 


Value. 


Equiva- 
lent. 


Value. 


Equiva- 
lent. 


1902 


s. d. 

m 

1 5 
1 5* 
1 4f 
1 5* 
1 6 
1 6f 
1 5 
1 8 
1 9i 


Cents. 
21.3 
34.4 
35.4 
33.5 
34.6 
36.5 
37.7 
34.4 
40.5 
42.7 


£7 
52 
100 
120 
187 
247 
366 
385 
557 
759 




$34 

253 

487 

584 

910 

1,202 

1,781 

1,873 

2,711 

3,694 


£206 

245 

452 

839 

1,174 

1,376 

2,161 

2,929 

3,259 

3.834 


$1,002 

1,192 

2,199 

4,083 

5,714 

6,696 

10,516 

14, 254 

15, 860 

18, 658 


£7 

15 

27 

90 

110 

90 

165 

300 

450 

550 


$34 


1903 


73 


1904 


131 


1905 


438 


1906 


535 


1907 


438 


1908 


803 


1909 


1,460 


1910 


2,190 


1911 


2,676 

























NEWCASTLE- ON-TYNE, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT, 

Report on Cooperation and Cost of Living. 



American Consulate, 

~Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, November 22, 1911. 

In Northumberland, Durham, and Cumberland there are about 140 dis- 

tibutive cooperative societies, with a memb'eship of about 280,000 persons. 

The societies are linked together in a union for legal, propaganda, educational, 

protective, and other purposes to a central organization whose chief offices 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 209 

are in Manchester. The constitution of this union is such that for local pur- 
poses the whole of these societies in the section form a unit with its own 
sectional board numbering seven persons with a paid secretary, and which, 
with the exception of the secretary, are elected annually. As a board they meet 
monthly. 

The section is further divided into districts which have a measure of local 
control centered in district executives. These, too, are elected annually by the 
societies, who have voting power in proportion to membership and which is 
at the rate of 1 vote for each 500 members or fractional part thereof. This 
union is not a trading organization. 

These 140 distributive societies carry on the trade of the ordinary shop- 
keeper or storekeeper; that is, they supply their members with whatever they 
require as consumers. 

The government of the retail store is democratic, and the members themselves 
find all the capital necessary to carry on their respective trades. Some, but 
not many, own farms. Each society works its own area and independent of 
the others. Some are small, numbering only 100 members; while others are 
large, numbering from fifteen to over twenty thousand members. Some of 
these have branch shops in different parts of the town and in the adjoining 
villages. Most of the goods are transferred to the members either by horses 
or motor trolleys, the custom being to deliver such goods fortnightly. The 
method of payment is in most cases fortnightly, though in some cases payment 
is demanded on delivery. 

With regard to the extent to which the cost of the common necessaries of 
life to the consumers is concerned it should be borne in mind that most of the 
societies take the whole of the savings of their members up to 200,000, pay 
interest at the rate of from 4 to 5 per cent per annum. This means that most 
societies have a surplus of share capital for which they get something less 
than this percentage. Including this interest on capital, depreciation on 
buildings, wages, educational and other grants, the average working expenses 
will amount to about Is. 7d. per pound of sales, and it is found that they can 
pay a dividend on purchases of about Is. 6d. to Is. 7d. in the pound and complete 
with the best shops in this district. The hours, wages, and general conditions 
are in the main much superior to those of the outside trader. 

If by noncooperative stores, private shops are meant, the attitude is not 
an unfriendly one, though there is little intertrading done between them. The 
same remark applies to the wholesale societies outside the movement. 

With regard to the purchases generally of the retail societies, they are made 
chiefly through their own wholesale societies, say, probably to the extent of 
60 to 70 per cent. Cattle, sheep, some butter, and eggs are purchased direct 
by the retail society from the local farmers, who in many instances are them- 
selves members of these societies. 

With regard to wholesale productions those goods manufactured by the 
v holesale society will have been supplied, I dare say, by the cooperative whole- 
sale society, and need not be repeated here, most of which works are in and 
about Manchester and Leeds, though we have a large flour mill, soap works, 
cabinet works, printing department, etc., in this district. 

Horace W. Metcalf, Consul. 



SWANSEA, WALES, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

cooperative societies in wales. 

American Consular Service, 
Swansea, Wales, February 14, 1912. 

There are within the consular district of Swansea somewhere about 30 
cooperative societies. Most of these are composed of the working class. They 
deal principally in provisions, but they also sell clothing, boots and shoes, and 
general merchandise. All of them are governed by the rules and regulations 
of the Cooperative Wholesale Society of Manchester, who send auditors to 
check the books and management of the various societies in the provinces. 

In addition to the cooperative societies above referred to, there are iu the 
agricultural districts of Breconshire, Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire, and 
Pembrokeshire, many agricultural cooperative societies and these latter socie- 

84247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 14 



210 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

ties are governed by regulations set forth by the Agricultural Organization 
Society (Ltd.), Queen Anne's Chambers, Tothill, Westminster, London, and 
this organization appoints paid representatives to visit the various agricul- 
tural counties and advise cooperation amongst the farmers and agricultural 
people. 

There are many arguments for and against the cooperative system, but as 
far as my inquiries and investigations go I have come to the conclusion that 
the agricultural cooperative societies are undoubtedly advantageous to farmers 
and agriculturists and reduce their cost of living by reason of the Members 
being enabled to purchase sufficient agricultural implements, fertilizers, seeds, 
coals, etc., at a very much less figure than any private individual could possibly 
arrange, because of the quantity they handle as a body. These agricultural 
societies, which may be described as yet in their infancy, are able to keep agri- 
culturalists informed as to various prices ruling both as regards their require- 
ments and the agricultural goods they have for disposal. 

As regards the cooperative societies which are organized according to the 
rules and regulations of the Cooperative Wholesale Society of Manchester, 
these societies are very plentiful in the north of England and reports published 
by them tend to show that the concerns make the cost of living favorable to 
the working class. The latest statistics I have before me show that there are 
in this district 32 cooperative societies with an aggregate membership of 7,790 ; 
their assets would amount to about $440,900, and their liabilities $350,945. 
The number of employees is 206, and their wages amount to $55,430. The 
annual sales reached $1,187,420, and the net profits, interest on share capital, 
dividend, and bonus, amounted to $119,460. 

Generally cooperative societies in south Wales find the principal field of use- 
fulness in industrial districts and mining villages. 

While the general wholesalers and retail stores seem to be unfriendly to the 
cooperative societies, there would appear to be a distinct field as stated above 
in which the cooperative stores are beneficial to the small communities of the 
mining districts. 

C. Ludlow Livingston, American Consul. 



HULL, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

COOPERATION IN HULL. 
[From Consul Walter C. Hamm, Hull, England.] 

The first movement toward cooperation in Hull was the formation of a work- 
ers' flour mill, designated the "Antemill," established 1779, and this was fol- 
lowed after a few years by the " Hull Subscription Mill." No great success 
attended these early efforts, which, after a struggling existence, languished and 
died out. It was not until 1890 that a zealous and determined effort was made 
to revive cooperation in the city. 

Starting first in a modest shop on the Hessle Road, and finding this ground un- 
congenial, the business was transferred to Holderness Road, where more encour- 
agement was found. At the end of 12 months the membership stood at 260, with 
share capital $1,031.69, the trade done during the year amounting to $6,915.30, 
but no profit had resulted. At the end of 10 years the members numbered 2,017 ; 
capital amounted to $34,834.40 ; the trade done during the year was $170,376.16 ; 
and the profit realized $15,008.28, with a reserve fund of $2,238.59. Then the 
society began to make rapid strides, and at the end of 1910 there was a member- 
ship of 15,347. The share capital grew to $393,982.11; the trade for the year 
was $1,465,249.62; the profits for the year were $125,103.12; and the reserve 
fund was $19,855.32. 

The control of the society is vested in the members who hold business meet- 
ings quarterly and progress report meetings each month. The members' meet- 
ings elect representatives to the management committee, which meets twice a 
week, and this committee is responsible to the members for the proper discharge 
of the duties delegated to it, which, briefly, are as follows: 

To control all business carried on by or on account of the society, including 
all purchases and contracts relating to land and buildings; to engage all man- 



COOPEKATION' AND THE COST OF UVING. 211 

agers, salesmen, or any description of employee required to conduct such busi- 
ness, and fix their duties, salaries, or other remuneration, and discharge or 
remove them when necessary ; to convene all meetings of the society according 
to the rules thereof. This management committee is restrained by rule, how- 
ever, from making any addition to fixed stock or freehold property incurring 
an outlay of the funds of the society exceeding the sum of $4,866.50 on any 
one transaction without first obtaining the sanction of an ordinary or special 
meeting. The management committee forms its members into small subcom- 
mittees which are made responsible for the efficient working of departments, 
viz, grocery, bakery, drapery, coal, stables, finance, etc., and the heads of the 
several departments meet their respective subcommittees fortnightly and give 
in reports or make suggestions for the advancement of the business of their 
departments. 

The society deals in groceries, provisions, hardware, furniture, coal, all 
branches of drapery, boots and shoes, ready-made and bespoke tailoring, 
baking and confectionery, cabinetmaking, bootmaking and repairing, dress- 
making, millinery, and has its own works department which carries out most 
of the general repair work required and which a year or two ago erected the 
society's large and commodious central premises in Jameson Street, one of the 
principal business streets of the city. 

Members leave their orders at the shops in person or send same by post or, 
if preferred, a canvasser waits upon them at their homes and takes note of 
their requirements. All orders are delivered, and for this purpose there are 
employed about 30 horses with rollies and vans, 2 petrol delivery vans, and 1 
steam roulley, besides a large staff of errand boys. 

Goods are sold at the prices current in the city. At the end of the half 
year the profit disclosed, after paying 5 per cent interest upon shares and 
meeting all expenses, providing liberally for depreciation of property and 
stock, apportionating 2\ per cent to educational purposes, and making such 
grants to charitable institutions as the members' meeting approves, is divided 
amongst the members according to their purchases. The rate of dividend has 
varied from 2 shillings to 1 shilling and 8 pence in the pound, the lower rate 
prevailing. 

The cooperative movement has, from time to time, met opposition from the 
retail trade of Hull, but as this opposition has led the members to attach 
themselves more loyally to the movement and has, if anything, contributed 
in some measure to the society's success, an attitude of good-humored toler- 
ance has marked the society's demeanor toward competitors. 

The bulk of the supplies are obtained from the Cooperative Wholesale So- 
ciety, which is agent on a large scale for all general goods and is also a 
manufacturer to a considerable extent. At the same time the committee has 
perfect freedom of action in buying and may fill their requirements from any 
source which is not tainted by sweated labor or evil conditions. 

Cooperation appears at the present time to be in a well-established condi- 
tion in Hull. The cooperative society owns and occupies a large fine brick 
building in the business center of the city, the ground floor of which is given 
up to its stores and the upper stories to its workrooms. Everything about the 
society's operations denotes good management and prosperity. 

Hull, England, December 5, 1911. 



COOPERATIVE TRADING CRITICIZED. 
[From Consul Walter C. Hamm, Hull, England.] 

The following criticism of cooperative trading by a resident of Hull and 
printed in a recent number of the British Weekly will be interesting to the 
advocates of this system in America. The writer argues that the old coopera- 
tive ideas have ceased to exist, and the one object aimed at is to secure the 
largest possible dividend. He quotes from a speech by a leader of the move- 
ment at a recent cooperative conference, saying that " the canker worm was the 
craze for dividends, which was playing havoc with the movement." 

In support of the statement that cooperative trading can not compete with 
legitimate retail trading, the following comparison of prices of goods bought at 
an up-to-date grocer's store April 25, 1911, and of goods of equal quality bought 



212 



tJOOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



at a cooperative store on the same date is given. (The figures are in English 
currency) : 



Grocers. 



Coopera- 
tive. 



Corner of ham, 4J pounds, at 7d 

1 pound pure lard 

| pound baking powder 

1 jar marmalade 

1 pound lump sugar 

4 stone best flour 

§ pound lemon peel 

1 pound ground rice 

1 tin apricots 

1 packet wax candles 

1 packet Quaker oats 

Multiply by 3 to bring near 



£ s. 



d. 

6 
54 

24 

6 

2 

84 
2 

14 

74 



60 
4 

74 
24 
9 

24 
2 
9 


54 



6 63 
3 



04 
3 



19 74 



1 4 14 



Overcharge f, with bonus at J in the pound. 

The writer adds these criticisms : " It is said that cooperative trading en- 
courages thrift ; but is it not an extraordinary thrift which means leaving in the 
hands of the society about 20 per cent extra charges in order at the end of three 
months to receive back about 8 per cent as so-called bonus? 

" It is also stated that cooperation does not create unemployment. The society 
from which the above goods were purchased is doing a turnover of something 
like £300,000 per annum. It will be readily seen that this means the absolute 
extinction of 100 shopkeepers who might each have been doing £60 a week 
turnover. Each of these would have been able to employ two to three assistants, 
and to give them that personal attention and consideration for their welfare 
which is not secured under any other system. 

" The municipality would also be receiving rates from the occupied shops, 
which would help to some extent to relieve the excessive burdens winch now 
rest on so many struggling traders. On the other hand, we find that to do this 
£300,000 turnover per annum it is only necessary for the stores to occupy a 
comparatively small number of shops. 

" Their employees are working under, in many cases, unremunerative condi- 
tions, and have not the opportunities of becoming the useful citizens they might 
become under the competitive system of trading. Thus do we see that the 
statement that cooperative trading does not tend to unemployment is absolutely 
unreliable. 

" When we recognize that it is the avowed intention of cooperative trading to 
eliminate individual effort and enterprise, I think you will agree that this is a 
very serious menace to the welfare, not only of traders, but of the nation as a 
whole. The movement, with all its possibilities for evil, has, according to the 
figures I have quoted, not even the merit of serving its members so well as they 
could be served under the competitive system. 

" It is a fact, too, that a great many of those associated with the cooperative 
stores are dependent upon private enterprise for their living (one authority 
gives the figure as 96 per cent) ; therefore, if all cooperators relied on the stores 
for their employment the movement would cease to exist in a few weeks." 

Hull, England, February 5, 1912. 



CORK (QUEENSTOWN), IRELAND; CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

COOPERATION AND THE COST OF- LIVING. 

The cooperative movement in Munster Province, which comprises this consular 
district, is not extensive. At the present time there are but five retail stores in 
operation; these are located at Blarney, Rosslare, Queenstown, Tralee, and Cork. 
At Limerick a society is being formed, and they expect to have their store in 






COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 213 

operation within the next three months. The societies at Blarney and Rosslare 
have been in existence about 10 years, while those at Queenstown, Tralee, and 
Cork have been organized within the past 2 years. All are registered under 
the Industrial and Provident Societies Act of 1893, and operate under the rules 
of the Cooperative Union (Ltd.), Nichols Croft, High Street, Manchester, 
England. (Copy of rules inclosed herewith.) 

In addition to the above there are three produce depots and a bacon factory 
in this district, owned and operated by the Cooperative Wholesale Societies 
(Ltd.), of Manchester. The Limerick depot was established in 1869, and is 
chiefly used for the handling of butter, shipments to the value of $1,500,000 
being made to the various cooperative societies in the United Kingdom each 
year. At Tralee there is an egg and butter depot, established in 1874; also a 
bacon factory of more recent date, with a capacity of 1,000 pigs a week. The 
third depot, located in Cork, was established in 1877, and is chiefly engaged in 
purchasing butter and eggs for the various societies on orders from the central 
society at Manchester. 

These retail cooperative societies reduce the cost of the common necessities 
of life to the consumer in this district about 5 per cent. To avoid antagonizing 
the independent retailer, merchandise is sold at the regular local market price. 
The members derive benefit from these societies in the form of cash dividends 
payable at certain periods in proportion to the amount of their purchases. 
These dividends vary in accordance with the volume of business transacted, 
and the profit each society is able to make on its sales after paying current 
expenses. For example : The societies in Queenstown and Cork in 1910 paid 
to their members 5 per cent on all purchases made during the year, which 
was in addition to a 5 per cent annual dividend on the pound ($4.8665) skares 
held by members. Nonmembers who have made purchases of a society are 
entitled to receive dividends equal to one-half the sum they would be entitled 
to as members. 

Some societies operating under this organization in the United Kingdom have 
been able to return to their members as high as 15 per cent of their total pur- 
chases, but this can only be accomplished by societies having a very large 
membership and sales in proportion. The rebates in this district have been 
limited to 5 per cent thus far. The attitude of these societies toward nonco- 
operative stores, as a rule, is friendly, as is shown by their efforts to maintain 
prices on a level with their competitors, but the independent retailers and 
wholesalers do not reciprocate this amicable spirit. Generally local whole- 
salers do not care to supply them with merchandise for fear of antagonizing 
the independent merchants, and are aware that the cooperative societies pur- 
chase of them only when compelled to do so to secure a certain article, or to 
obtain goods more promptly than they are able to do in ordering through their 
own wholesale societies. 

The purchases of retail cooperative societies directly from the producers are 
usually limited to vegetables and local produce, for which, of course, they pay 
the regular market price in competition with independent dealers. The depots 
of the Cooperative Wholesale Societies (Ltd.), of Manchester, located in 
this district are a benefit to the producers, inasmuch as they are large buyers 
and are the only middlemen between the producer and the retailer. The 
farmers are, in many cases, able to secure better prices from these depots 
than they would obtain if compelled to sell to local dealers and wholesalers, 
who in turn sell to other middlemen for distribution throughout the United 
Kingdom. The manager of the local depot furnishes the information that in 
no case do they combine with others on the market to force prices down, but 
buy in the open market independent of others. 

The Irish Agricultural Organization Society, at Dublin, a cooperative society 
of nearly 100,000 members, operating chiefly in north and central Ireland, is 
an organization of farmers for cooperative dairying, marketing of their produce, 
the joint purchase of expensive machinery, the formation of agricultural banks 
to enable the farmers to obtain money at low rates of interest, and the uniting 
of workers in home industrial societies. The agricultural societies connected 
with this organization, to a limited extent, supply their members with imple- 
ments, fertilizers, seeds, feeding stuffs, etc. There are no local organizatious 
affiliated with this society. This consulate applied to the secretary of the 
Irish Agricultural Organization Society, at Dublin, for information concerning 
the scope of their work in Munster Province (this consular district), and was 
informed by him that he has supplied the consul at Dublin with all the in- 



214 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

formation at his disposal for the whole of Ireland, consequently this office 
is unable to give a detailed summary of the workings of this cooperative 
society, but presumes that it will be given in the report of the Dublin consulate. 

G. E. Chamberlin, Consul. 



Rules op the Queenstown Cooperative Society, Limited. 

rules. 

(a) The rules hereto annexed, entitled "General Rules for an Industrial 
and Provident Society," and numbered 1 to 138, shall be the rules of this 
society, subject to the special rules thereof. 

(&) The rules next following, Nos. I to III, are the special rules of the 
society, to which the general rules therein referred to are respectively subject, 
and the interpretation clause thereof applies. 

THE SPECIAL RULES OF THE SOCIETY. 

I. General rule 8. — The name of this society is the Queenstown Cooperative 
Society, Limited. 

II. General rule 3. — The special objects of the society are to carry on the 
trade of general dealers, both retail and wholesale, and manufacturers of any 
article so dealt in as any general meeting may direct or authorize. 

III. General rule 4- — The registered office of the society shall be at 22 Roche's 
Row, Queenstown, in the County of Cork. 

Thomas Powell. 
James Unwin. 
Arthur Henry Bishop. 
Thomas A. Bayne. 
Thomas Codd. 
Henry Charles Leek. 
Thomas Horan. 
John Dowling, Secretary. 

acknowledgment of registry of society. 

The Queenstown Cooperative Society Limited is registered under the indus- 
trial and provident societies act, 1893, this 8th day of July, 1909. 

D. O'C. Miley, 
Assistant Registrar for Ireland. 
General Rules for an Industrial and Provident Society. 

general rules. 

Chapter I. — General Qualification and Interpretation. 

1. Qualification. — Every rule herein contained shall be subject to qualifica- 
tion by any special rule of the society referring to it by its number, and shall 
be deemed to be adopted by the society in so far only as is consistent with such 
qualification. 

2. Interpretation. — In the construction of these rules, including this rule, the 
following words and expressions shall have respectively the meanings follow- 
ing, unless the subject matter or context are inconsistent therewith : 

(1) Words importing the singular or plural number shall respectively in- 
clude the plural and singular numbers; words importing the masculine gender 
only shall include the feminine gender. 

(2) "The act" shall mean the industrial and provident societies act, 1893. 

(3) "The committee" shall mean the committee of management, board of 
directors, or other directing body of a society or company. 

(4) A " company " shall mean (1) any body corporate other than a society ; 
(2) any society authorized to sue and be sued by any person authorized to 
act in its behalf ; and " a society " shall mean any society registered under 
the industrial and provident societies act, 1893, or deemed so to be. 

(5) "Lands" shall include tenements and hereditaments. 

(6) "He," "him," and "person" shall include a company or society. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 215 

(7) "Nominal capital" shaM mean the amount of the shares allotted for 
the time being, including any which may have been purchased on account of 
the society. 

(8) ^'The society" shall mean the society named in the special rules. 

(9) "Special members" shall mean the persons by whom the special rules 
are signed, and any other persons whom those rules may declare to be included 
thereunder. 

(10) "The special rules" shall mean the rules prefixed hereto, whereby 
these rules are made rules of any society. 

(11) "The treasury regulations" shall mean the regulations approved by 
the treasury under the act, or any act relating to industrial and provident 
societies for the time being. 

(12) A direction given by the society shall mean a direction given by any 
of the " special rules " of the society, or by any registered rule of the society 
made subsequently ; and the words " subject thereto," following any such direc- 
tion, shall mean " unless such a rule is made, and so far as no such rule directs 
otherwise." 

(13) In Ireland, " bond " shall include a judgment registered as a mortgage, 
or a mortgage deed affecting specified lands. 

(14) In Scotland, "letters of administration" and "probate" shall mean 
confirmation. 

Chapter II. — Name, Objects, and Place of Business. 

3. Name, objects, and powers of the society. — The name and special objects 
of the society shall be those stated in the special rules. The objects of the 
society shall include dealings of any description with land. The society shall 
have full powers to do all things necessary or expedient for the accomplish- 
ment of all objects specified in its rules, including the power to purchase, hold, 
sell, mortgage, rent, lease, or sublease, lands of any tenure, and to erect, pull 
down, repair, alter, or otherwise deal with any building thereon. 

4. Registered office — How to be determined. — The registered office of the 
society shall be at such place in the United Kingdom as is mentioned in the 
special rules. It may be changed by a resolution of the committee. 

5. Removal of office to be notified. — Notice of any removal of the office of the 
society shall be sent to the registrar of friendly societies for the place where 
the office is established within 14 days after such change, or such other time as 
may be required by the treasury regulations and in manner and form thereby 
prescribed. 

6. Books of account, etc., to be kept at office. — All books of account, securities, 
documents, and papers of the society, other than such (if any) as are directed 
by the committee to be kept elsewhere, shall be kept at the registered office, in 
such manner and with such provisions for their security as the committee from 
time to time direct. 

Chaptee III. — Membership. 
Section 1. — Members. 

7. Who are members. — The society shall consist of the special members and 
of all such other persons as the special rules direct or the committee may admit. 

8. Shares to be held by members. — Subject to the provisions of the act, each 
individual shall hold at least one transferable share and each society or com- 
pany one for every hundred members thereof. The special members shall be 
deemed, without any special application, to hold such number of shares each 
of such descriptions as an individual member is required to hold. 

9. Payment on application. — Every person shall pay, on applying for admis- 
sion, Is., for which he shall receive a copy of the rules. 

10. Application by a society or company. — Applications for admission by a 
society or company shall be in such of the forms contained in rule 138 as the 
case requires and shall be for such number of shares, at least, as the rules 
require and of such descriptions as they permit the applicant to hold. 

11. Application by an individual. — An application by an individual may be 
made either in the form contained in rule 138 or by making such payment as is 
required upon an application for admission and the signature of a receipt for 
a copy of the rules in the form contained in the said rule, either by the applicant 
or on his behalf. 

12. How applications should be dealt with. — Every application for admission 
shall be considered by the committee at its first meeting after it is made, or so 



216 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

soon thereafter as is practicable; and if it is approved the name of the appli- 
cant shall be entered on the list of members and the register of shares herein- 
after mentioned, for the number and description of shares required to be held 
by the rules, or any larger number applied for and allowed to be held thereby, 
upon such approval and such confirmation thereof, if any, as the society may 
direct. 

13. Notice of refusal or admission. — Notice of the refusal of an application 
or of the entry of the name of any applicant on the list of members, signed by 
the secretary, shall be sent to the applicant at the address mentioned on the 
form of application or receipt within one week after such refusal or entry is 
made. 

14. Repayment of the entrance fee. — The sum paid on an application for 
admission shall be repaid on demand to the person by whom or on whose behalf 
it was or purports to have been paid, within one calendar month after the date 
of the said notice, if the application is refused, or if it is not granted within 
three calendar months after the application. 

15. Appeal and erasure of the names of applicants. — In either of the above 
cases the person refused admission shall have the same right of appeal as is 
given by rule 21. 

16. How forms to be referred to. — The forms used on an application shall be 
numbered and filed in the office of the society and referred to in the list of 
members. 

17. Admission of married women. — A married woman may be admitted a 
member of the society and may hold and deal with any share or other interest 
in the society credited to her in England and Ireland as if she were unmarried, 
as is provided in the married women's property act, 1882, and in Scotland as 
is provided by the married women's property act, 1881 (Scotland). 

18. Admission of minors. — A minor not under the age of 10 years may be 
admitted as a member and execute all instruments and give all acquittances 
necessary to be executed or given under the rules, but may not be a member 
of the committee, trustee, manager, or treasurer of the society. (See the 
act, sec. 32.) 

19. Withdrawal of members and partial cessation of membership. — A person 
all of whose shares have been transferred, withdrawn, repaid, or forfeited 
under the rules shall cease to be a member, and no member may vote at any 
meeting of the society, either personally or by deputy — 

(1) If he holds less than the number of shares of either description required 
to be taken upon admission. 

(2) If he is in arrear of his subscriptions. 

(3) If the sum standing to his credit on any withdrawable shares is reduced 
by withdrawals below the full amount payable on the number of withdrawable 
shares he may be required to hold. 

Section 2. — List of members. 

20. Where to be kept, and entries thereon. — The committee shall keep at the 
registered office of the society a list of the names, occupations, and addresses 
of all members, open at all convenient times to the inspection of the members 
and persons having an interest in the funds ; and each member shall give notice 
of any change affecting himself, or be subject to such fine, not exceeding Is., 
as any ordinary business meeting may fix, provided that it is not retrospective. 
No person whose name does not appear on such list, other than a deputy, shall 
have any right as a member of the society; and the committee shall cause to 
be erased therefrom the names of all such persons as cease to be members 
under these rules. 

21. Claims to be entered on or removed from the list. — A person who claims 
to be placed or retained on or removed from the list of members shall apply 
in the first instance to the committee for that purpose, and if refused may 
appeal to the next ordinary business meeting held after the receipt of notice 
of such refusal, which may make such order on the matter as it thinks fit. 

Chapteb IV. — Capital. 
Section 1. — Share capital. 

22. 'Nominxil value. — The capital of the society shall be raised by shares of 
the nominal value of £1, payable as to all shares required to be held at the 
rate of 3d. per week, with a fine of Is. per quarter on nonpayment. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 217 

23. Installments. — Each installment shall be payable at such place, on such 
days, between such hours, and to such persons as the committee from time 
to time fix. 

24. Poicer to pay in anticipation. — A member may pay the whole or any part 
of an installment in anticipation of the period when it will become due ; and if 
he holds more than one share, either transferable or withdrawable, not fully 
paid, may specify to which shares the payment shall be applied, otherwise it 
shall be distributed equally. 

25. Cases of distress. — The committee may remit any fine incurred by non- 
payment of any installment if the nonpayment appears to them to have arisen 
from sickness, distress, want of work, or any other sufficient reason, of which 
a written statement, signed by the defaulting member or some person claiming 
to act on his behalf, has been given to the secretary at the time when the pay- 
ment ought to have been made. 

26. Application of dividends to pay up shares. — The interest and dividends 
payable (1) upon the share capital held by any member; (2) upon any pur- 
chases made by him; shall not be paid to him until all shares which he is re- 
quired to hold are fully paid, but shall accumulate and be applied from time to 
time in payment of the sums due on such shares. 

27. Allotment of shares. — The committee shall allot to all members upon 
their admission such number of shares of the descriptions issued by the so- 
ciety as they apply for, and shall similarly allot from time to time the shares 
applied for by any member or required to make the nominal value of his shares, 
whether transferable or withdrawable, not less than the capital of the same 
name credited to him, provided that the number of shares so allotted does not 
raise the total investment of any member, except a society, to a sum exceeding 
£200 sterling, or such lesser sum as the society may direct. 

Section 2. — Enforcement of dedts to society, and forfeiture of shares. 

28. Recovery of sums due under rules, and forfeiture of shares. — All sums due 
from any member, for subscriptions or otherwise, shall be recoverable from him, 
his executors or administrators, as a debt due to the society. The secretary 
shall lay before each ordinary business meeting a return of all such sums, and 
thereupon the meeting may — 

(1) Direct the committee to take legal proceedings for the recovery thereof. 

(2) If the sum is due in respect of a share, declare such share to be forfeited 
if any payment thereon has been in arrears for three calendar months. 

29. Effect and remission of forfeiture. — Upon a declaration of forfeiture of 
a share, all sums paid or credited thereon shall become the property of the 
society; but the forfeiture may be remitted if the sum due is paid within one 
calendar month from the date of a notice of forfeiture, which shall be sent 
in each case to the registered address of the member within one week after 
the declaration of forfeiture. 

Section 3. — Loans and deposits. 

30. Loans on the security of agreements, oonds, or mortgages; to what 
amount, and how may oe made: 

(1) The committee may obtain advances of money for the purposes of the 
society from time to time from any person, whether a member of the society 
or not, upon the security of bonds, or agreements, or transferable preferential 
shares by or of the society, or of a mortgage either legal or equitable of any 
property thereof. 

(2) The amount so obtained shall not exceed the nominal capital of the 
society without the previous authority of a registered rule of the society. With 
such authority it may be any sum not exceeding the amount so authorized. 

(3) The committee may obtain any such loan on such terms as to the time 
and manner of repayment as it thinks fit. 

(4) The rate of interest agreed to be given on any such advance may be any 
rate not exceeding £6 per cent per annum, or such higher rate as any special 
general meeting may authorize. 

(5) Any bond of the society may be made a specific charge upon any lands of 
the society specified therein, or in any schedule thereto. But a separate register 
shall be kept of all such bonds. 



218 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

(6) Any such bond or share may be issued, or agreement or mortgage made, 
as a continuing security to cover any sum not exceeding the limits aforesaid, 
due or to become due upon the account of the society to any person with whom 
it may bank. 

31. Power to receive deposits. — The committee may receive from any persons, 
whether members or not, on deposit, withdrawable on such notice, being not 
less than two clear days, as they fix from time to time, any sums, within the 
total limit mentioned in Rule 30, not exceeding 10s. in any one payment, nor 
£20 for any one depositor; and if the society has any withdrawable capital, 
no payment thereof shall be made while any claim due on account of any such 
deposit is unsatisfied. 

Section 4. — Investments. 

32. Power to invest surplus capital. — The committee may invest any part of 
the capital of the society as follows: 

(1) In advances to members on the security of real or personal property; and 

(2) In or upon any security in which trustees are for the time being author- 
ized by law to invest; and 

(3) In or upon any mortgage, bond, debenture, debenture stock, corporation 
stock, annuity, rent charge, rent, or other security (not being securities pay- 
able to bearer) authorized by or under any act of Parliament passed or to be 
passed of any local authority as defined by section 34 of the local loans act, 
1875; and 

(4) In the shares or on the security of any other society registered or 
deemed to be registered under the act, or under the building societies act, or 
of any company registered under the companies acts, or incorporated by act 
of Parliament or by charter, provided that no such investment be made in the 
shares of any society or company other than one with limited liability ; and 

(5) If the society is not chargeable with income tax in pursuance of the 
act, in any savings bank certified under the trustee savings bank act, 1863, 
or in a post office savings bank. 

32a. Power to vote in respect to investments. — The society may appoint any 
one or more of its members to vote on its behalf at the meetings of any other 
body corporate in which the society has invested any part of its funds, al- 
though such member or members may not personally be shareholders in such 
other body corporate. (See the act, sec. 41.) 

Section 5. — Repayment of capital. 

33. Repayment compulsory on members. — Subject to the payment of, or a 
sufficient provision for, all subsisting claims on the society, the committee, 
with the approval of any general meeting, may apply any moneys for which 
they can not find profitable investment in paying off — 

(1) The shares of any member who has bought of the society less than any 
amount fixed by the ordinary business meetings in any prescribed time. 

(2) The excess of shares held by those who hold the largest number above 
those who hold the next largest; provided that no member be required to 
accept less than the full sum paid upon each share paid off. 

34. Repayment on the request of members. — Subject as aforesaid, the com- 
mittee may, in the case of any transferable share required to be held by a 
member desirous of withdrawing from the society, on the application of the 
holder of any such share, repay any sum not exceeding the amount then 
credited thereon; and shall repay the whole sum so credited in any case where 
a member is paid off under the provisions of Rule 33, or where they refuse 
to confirm the transfer of any such share which is fully paid up. 

35. Shares repaid to be extinguished. — All such repayments shall be made 
on resolutions of the committee, which, with the receipts for the money paid, 
shall be entered or referred to on the respective registers of withdrawable or 
transferable shares aftermentioned, designating any transferable share by 
the number to be given to it, and thereupon the shares in respect of which 
such payments are made shall be extinguished. 

36. Moneys left with the society after notice of repayment. — If a member 
who has received notice that the committee is prepared to pay him off leave 
the sum to be thus repaid in the hands of the society he shall not be entitled 
to any interest thereon after the expiration of the time named in the notice 
of repayment 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 219 

Chapter V. — Shares. 
Section 1. — Shares generally. 

37. Of what description.— The shares of the society shall, subject to Rule 54, 
be either transferable or withdrawable, as is expressed in each case. 

38. Where two or more joint holders. — Shares may be held by two or more 
individuals jointly, either of whom may give a valid receipt for any interest 
or dividend payable thereon ; and all notices relating to any such shares, given 
to such one as they jointly direct, and in default of any direction, to the one 
whose name stands first in the books of the society, shall be sufficiently given. 

3&. Limit to interest. — Interest shall not be calculated on or for any fraction 
of £1, or of a calendar month. 

40. Lien of society on shares. — The society shall have a lien on the shares 
of any member for any debt due to it by him other than under Rule 55 (4) 
for any subscription repaid, and may set off any sum credited to the member 
thereon in or toward the payment of such debt. 

Section 2. — Transferable shares. 

41. How to be allotted. — All transferable shares allotted by the society shall 
be numbered continuously, and all such as are not taken to be held by the 
special members shall be allotted to the original holders thereof by the com- 
mittee in the order of the numbers; and all such as are taken to be so held 
shall be entered in the- share register aftermentioned, under the names of 
such members, in alphabetical order, by the order of the numbers, beginning 
with one. 

42. Share register. — The committee shall keep a share register, in which, 
under the number of each share, shall be entered the name of each member to 
whom it was originally allotted, or under whose name it is entered ; and if 
the share is canceled, as is hereinbefore provided, the date of such cancelling. 

43. Share ledger. — The committee shall keep, as part of the share register, 
a ledger, containing, in separate columns, under the name of each member, the 
numbers of the shares originally allotted to, or entered in the name of, or sub- 
sequently acquired by, such member, with the dates of such allotments, 
entries, and transfers, respectively, and a reference to the pages containing 
the names of the transferors ; the number of all shares transferred, with the 
date of such transfers, respectively ; a reference to the pages containing the 
names of the transferees ; and such particulars of the amounts paid upon such 
shares as the committee direct. 

44. Forms of transfer. — Transfers shall be in one of the forms hereinafter 
contained, or as near thereto as the case allows ; they shall be numbered con- 
tinuously, and shall state the number of each share transferred, and shall be 
executed by the transferor and transferee, and kept in the office of the society, 
and entered under their numbers in a register of transfers, with such other 
particulars as the committee direct ; and the number of each transfer shall be 
entered in the share ledger, under the name of the transferor and the trans- 
feree. 

45. Registration of transfers. — No transfer shall be registered unless it is 
properly stamped, nor if made by a member indebted to the society, without 
special order of the committee; and until the transfer of a share is registered 
no right shall be acquired against the society by the transferee, nor shall any 
claim of the society upon the transferor be affected. 

46. To whom transfers may be made. — Any share may be transferred with 
the approval of the committee to any other member at the option of the trans- 
feror; but if the transferee is not a member he must be approved of as a 
member by the committee, or the committee and a general meeting, according 
to the provisions of the rules relating to the admission of members, before the 
transfer can be registered ; and if the rules require a member to hold more 
than one transferable share, the transferee must acquire by the transfer, or 
by the transfer and allotment, the number so required to be held before the 
transfer can be registered. 

47. Fee on transfers. — Upon the transfer of any share there shall be paid a 
fee of 6d. 

48. Shares held in trust. — No entry of any trust shall be made upon the 
share register, except in the case of shares held by trustees for any company, 



220 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

in which case no transfer shall be registered except on a resolution of the 
committee of such company, which shall be filed with the transfer. 

49. Payment of stamp duty by the society. — The committee may pay the 
stamp duty upon the transfer of any share which a member is required to 
hold, made for the purpose of enabling him to withdraw from the society. 

50. Preferential shares. — All shares to which any preferential right or claim 
is attached shall be transferable only. 

51. Sale of shares to pay debts. — The committee may, in default of payment 
by any member indebted to the society in any manner contrary to its rules, to 
an amount not less than three-fourths of the sum paid up for the time being 
on any transferable share held by him, sell and transfer in the books of the 
society such share to any person entitled to hold the same under the rules, for 
the best price obtainable therefor, and apply the proceeds in or toward the 
discharge of the debt so due, and any expenses incurred in or about the same, 
paying over the balance thereof (if any) to the member, without being respon- 
sible for any loss occasioned thereby. And any transfer so made shall ex- 
tinguish all right of such member in the share so transferred, and shall operate 
as an original issue thereof, subject to the credit to be given to the purchaser 
for all payments previously made thereon. 

52. Limit to amount expended on repayments. — The amount expended in the 
repayment of any transferable shares shall not exceed any sum placed at the 
disposal of the committee for that purpose from time to time by the general 
meeting of the society, and shall be regularly stated in the accounts of the 
society. 

53. Payments on account of shares. — Payments made on account of shares 
by a member who holds any transferable share not fully paid shall be carried 
to the account thereof and distributed equally among such shares, if more 
than one. 

Section 3. — Withdrawable shares. 

54. When may be allotted. — Withdrawable shares shall be allotted as the 
committee fix. 

55. Conditions of withdrawal. — Such shares and the sums credited thereon 
shall be withdrawable on the following notice: 

Any sum up to £2, one week; above £2 up to £5, two weeks; above £5 up to 
£10, three weeks, and an additional week's notice for each additional sum of 
£5 or fraction thereof, subject to the regulations following: 

(1) On the withdrawal of any sum such number of shares as corresponds 
to that sum, excluding fractions of a share, shall be deemed to be withdrawn. 

(2) All withdrawals shall be paid in the order of the applications therefor. 

(3) Where any such share is required to be held — 1, no continuing member 
shall reduce the sum credited thereon, except by the consent of the committee ; 
2, a withdrawing member shall be paid the sum so credited with all arrears 
of interest (if any) within six calendar months after receipt of notice of with- 
drawal, subject to clauses (6) and (7) and to any fine which the society may 
direct. 

(4) Sums withdrawn on a share required to be held shall be a debt payable 
and enforceable by forfeiture in like manner as subscriptions on that share. 

(5) The committee may waive the ordinary notice and remit any fine for 
any time not over six calendar months. 

(6) Not more than one-tenth of the withdrawable capital paid up on the 
1st of January in each year, including all sums under notice of withdrawal at 
its commencement, shall be withdrawable during the year except by consent of 
the committee. 

(7) The right of withdrawal may be suspended by the resolution of the 
committee for any time thereby fixed in all cases where the passing of such 
resolution preceded the application for withdrawp.l; but such resolution shall 
in all cases be subject to confirmation by the next general meeting, whether 
special or ordinary, and if not confirmed the suspension shall cease. 

(8) If the society should go into liquidation, and the assets left, after 
paying all trade debts, loans, and deposits in full, are insufficient to repay the 
withdrawable share capital, there shall be deducted from the respective ac- 
counts of the members per share of each such share required to be held, 
the amount payable thereon, or so much thereof as is needed to meet the 
deficiency. 

56. Share register and ledger account of shares. — Withdrawable shares shall 
not be numbered, but the committee shall keep a share register showing the 






COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 221 

amount of withdrawable share capital existing from time to time, and contain- 
ing a ledger account under the name of each member, showing the number of 
shares held by, and all sums due, paid, or withdrawn by or credited to him on 
their account. 

57. Form of withdrawals. — Applications for withdrawals shall be made and 
paid as the committee direct. 

Section 4. — Transmission of interest. 

58. Nomination boolc. — (1) Any member, not being under the age of 16 years, 
may, by a writing under his hand, delivered at or sent to the registered office of 
the society during his lifetime, or made in any book thereat, nominate any per- 
son or persons other than an officer or servant of the society (unless such 
officer or servant is the husband, wife, father, mother, child, brother, sister, 
nephew, or niece of the nominator) to or among whom his property in the so- 
ciety, whether in shares, loans, or deposits, or so much thereof as is specified in 
such nomination, if the nomination does not comprise the whole, shall be trans- 
ferred at his decease, provided the amount credited to him in the books of the 
society does not then exceed £100 sterling. 

(2) A nomination so made may be revoked or varied by any similar docu- 
ment under the hand of the nominator, delivered, sent, or made as aforesaid, 
but shall not be revocable or variable by the will of the nominator or any 
codicil thereto. 

(3) The society shall keep a book wherein the names of all persons so nom- 
inated and of all revocations or variations, if any, of such nominations shall be 
regularly entered. 

59. Notice of the rights to nominate. — A notice of the right of nomination 
shall be sent to every individual member who has not exercised this right, with 
the report of the first ordinary business meeting in each year of which a report 
is circulated among the members, and shall be otherwise given, as such meet- 
ings may direct. 

60. Fee on nomination or revocation. — A member shall pay for the entry of 
every nomination or revocation, whether or not accompanied by a fresh nomina- 
tion, 3d. ; and one fee only shall be charged for the entry of all the names in 
any nomination or revocation paper, if more than one. 

61. Proceedings in case of death or insanity ; proceedings on the death of a 
member. — (1) On receiving satisfactory proof of the death of a nominator the 
committee of the society shall either transfer the property comprised in the 
nomination in manner directed by it, or pay to every person entitled there- 
under the full value of the property given to him, unless the shares comprised 
therein, if transferred as directed by the nominator, would raise the share 
capital of any nominee to a sum exceeding £200, in which case they shall pay 
him the value of such shares. 

(2) If the total property of the nominator in the society at his death exceeds 
£80 the committee shall, before making any payment, require production of a 
duly stamped receipt for the succession or legacy duty payable thereon, or a 
letter or certificate stating that no such duty is payable from the commissioners 
of inland revenue, who shall give such receipt, letter, or certificate, on payment 
of the duty, or satisfactory proof of no duty being payable, as the case may be. 

(3) If any member entitled to property therein in respect of shares, loans, or 
deposits, not exceeding in the whole, at his death, £100, dies intestate, without 
having made any nomination thereof then subsisting, the committee may, with- 
out letters of administration, distribute the same among such persons as appear 
to them, on such evidence as they deem satisfactory, to be entitled by law to 
receive the same, subject, if such property exceeds £80, to the obtaining from 
the commissioners of inland revenue a receipt for the succession or legacy duty 
payable thereon, or a letter or certificate stating that no such duty is payable. 

(4) If any such member is illegitimate, and leaves no widow, widower, or 
issue, the committee shall deal with his property in the society as the treasury 
shall direct. 

(5) Upon the death of any member who has an interest in the society ex- 
ceeding £100, or transmitted by his will, and a notice in writing given by his 
executor or administrator to the secretary of the society, stating the death of 
such member, and the Christian name, surname, profession, or business of such 
legal representative, and specifying the nature and amount of his interest or 
claim ; and the production, if the case requires, of the probate of the will of, or 
letters of administration to, such member, and of such evidence (if any) of his 



222 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

deatli as may be required by the committee, the committee shall either transfer 
the shares, or other interest of the member specified in such notice in the books 
of the society to his legal representative, or shall pay to him the sum which 
represents the full value thereof, and may make such transfer or payment at 
their discretion, unless the transfer would increase the interest of the trans- 
feree in the society to more than £200, in which case they shall make the pay- 
ment in money. 

(6) Insane or lunatic member. — If a member becomes insane, and no com- 
mittee of his estate or trustee of his property has been duly appointed, the 
committee may, when it is proved to their satisfaction that it is just and expedi- 
ent so to do, pay the amount of his property in the society, not exceeding £100, 
to any person whom they shall judge proper to receive the same on his behalf. 

62. Extinction of transferable shares. — If any share paid out under rule 61 
is a transferable share, an entry of the payment shall be made on the register 
of transfers, in manner hereinbefore provided on the repayment of a transfer- 
able share, and thereupon such share shall be extinguished. 

63. Shares nominated to be always transferable. — Shares comprised in any 
nomination shall be transferable to the nominee without ceasing to be with- 
drawable in consequence of such transfer, and the like provision shall apply to 
shares transferred under any will or administration. [See the act, sec. 25.] 

64. Transfer to make membership. — Every nominee or other person to whom 
any share is transferred under this section shall thereby become a member of 
the society, if not previously a member. 

65. Bankruptcy of a member. — The provisions of rule 61 as to the executor 
or administrator of a deceased member shall apply, with the requisite variations, 
to the trustee or (in Ireland) assignee in bankruptcy of a bankrupt member. 

66. Joint holders of shares. — On the decease of a joint holder of any share it 
shall be transferred into the name of the survivor on his application. 

Chapter VI. — Government and Administration. 

Section 1. — General meetings. 

67. Ordinary and special meetings. — Meetings of the members shall be either 
general, which include (1) ordinary business meetings; (2) special general 
meetings; or monthly. 

68. Ordinary business meetings. — The first ordinary business meeting of the 
society after it is established shall be held at such time as the special members 
fix, and the subsequent meetings in each third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth month 
after the first meeting, on such days and hours as are fixed by the resolutions 
of any such meetings from time to time, and so far as no such resolution extends 
by the committee. 

69. Monthly meetings. — Monthly meetings shall be held as the ordinary busi- 
ness meetings direct, and shall have such functions as is so directed, and so far 
as no such direction extends the following functions : 

(1) To confirm or not the election of members and the transfer of shares, if 
the special rules require such elections or transfers to be confirmed by a general 
meeting. 

(2) To discuss the affairs of the society. 

(3) To explain the principles and rules of the society. 

(4) To make suggestions for the consideration of the committee. 

(5) To recommend the names of persons suitable for election as officers of the 
society. 

70. Functions of ordinary business meetings. — The functions of ordinary busi- 
ness meetings shall be: 

(1) To receive from the committee, auditors, or any other officers of the 
society reports upon the business of the society during the period embraced 
therein and the state of its affairs at the date thereof, which, except any such 
meeting directs otherwise, shall be made to every such meeting. 

(2) To elect the committee, auditors, and other officers of the society, except- 
ing those whose appointment is given by the rules to the committee. 

(3) To transact any other general business of the society. 

71. Time and place of holding such meetings. — Any ordinary business meeting 
may fix, from time to time, its place of meeting, which, where no other place 
is so fixed, shall be the registered office of the society. 

72. Notice of time and place of meeting. — Such notice shall be given of the time 
and place of the first ordinary business meeting as the special members direct, 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 223 

and subsequently, notice of the time of every ordinary business meeting, and of 
the place where it is to be held if it be other than the registered office of the 
society, and in case the meeting has to elect any officer of the society of what 
officers are to be then elected, shall be given by fixing such notice conspicuously 
in the registered office and every place of business of the society for 14 clear 
days before the day of the meeting, and otherwise as such meetings may direct. 

73. Special general meetings. — Special general meetings shall be convened by 
the secretary, either on an order of the committee or upon a requisition signed 
by 20 members, and shall be held as soon as is possible after the receipt of 
such order or requisition and at the ordinary place and time of the business 
meetings of the society, unless any ordinary business meeting fixes any other 
place of meeting. 

74. Notice of special general meetings. — Notices convening a special general 
meeting shall state the time and place thereof and the purpose for which it is 
convened, and shall be posted to the registered address of all the members not 
less than six clear days before the day of meeting, unless in any case of emer- 
gency, where the committee unanimously direct a shorter notice to be given. 

75. Where members may give notice. — If the secretary does not convene a 
special general meeting in manner required hereby for seven clear days after 
a requisition therefor signed as hereinbefore is provided has been delivered 
at the office of the society, any of the requisitionists may give such notice of 
the meeting as is provided by rule 74, and shall have a claim upon the society 
for all costs, if any, properly incurred in giving such notice. 

76. Business of special general meetings. — A special general meeting can not 
transact any business not specified in the notice convening it, nor unless the 
notice convening it has been given according to the rules. But an ordinary 
business meeting may be made special for any purpose of which notice has 
been so given, provided that such business is not brought on until the ordinary 
business is concluded. 

77. Quorum of general meetings. — An ordinary business or special general 
meeting may proceed to business if 10 members are present within an hour 
after the time fixed for the meeting, otherwise the meeting, if a special general 
meeting convened on the requisition of the members, shall be dissolved; but if 
an ordinary business meeting or a special meeting convened by order of the 
committee, shall stand adjourned to the week following, at the same time, 
and shall be held at the principal place of business of the society, unless any 
resolution of an ordinary business meeting directs otherwise, in which case it 
shall stand adjourned to such place as is so directed; and the meeting so ad- 
journed may proceed to business whatever is the number of members present. 
No meeting shall become incompetent to transact business from the want of 
a quorum arising after the chair has been taken. 

78. Power of adjournment. — Any general meeting, duly constituted, may 
adjourn to such place as the members present direct within 30 days and may 
continue any such adjournment from time to time. No business shall be 
brought on at any adjourned meeting which could not have been transacted 
at the original meeting, and the same notice shall be given at any meeting ad- 
journed for more than 14 days, as was required for the original meeting. 

79. Quorum of monthly meeting. — A monthly meeting shall be dissolved if 
such number of members are not present within such time after the hour of 
meeting as the meeting appointing them fixes, and subject thereto if 10 members 
are not present within 15 minutes. 

80. Chairman of meetings. — Every meeting shall have a chairman, who shall 
not vote unless the votes are equal, when he shall have a casting vote, and who, 
in the absence of the president of the society, shall be any member of the com- 
mittee willing to preside; and in the absence of any such member such person 
as the meeting selects. 

81. Votes of (1) individuals, (2) societies or companies. — (1) Each indivi- 
dual member present who holds such number of shares as an individual is 
required to apply for, and is credited in the books of the society with a sum 
equal to one share, and is not disqualified by rule 19 ; and such one of the joint 
holders of the like number of shares credited with the like sum and not so dis- 
qualified as they appoint in writing shall have one vote. Proxies shall be admit- 
ted as the society may direct, and under the conditions so stated. (2) A 
society or company which holds such number of shares as it is required to 
apply for on admission, and is not in arrear of the subscriptions due thereon, 
may vote by deputy, and may appoint one deputy and each deputy shall have 
one vote, 



224 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

82. How votes shall be taken.— Votes shall be first taken by a show of hands, 
unless a ballot on any question is demanded by five members present, when they 
shall be taken by ballot as the committee fix. Subject to any special direction 
contained in any rule of the society or act of Parliament, all questions shall 
be determined by a majority of votes. 

83. Appointment and powers of deputies. — A deputy shall be appointed by a 
resolution signed by the secretary and two members of the committee thereof 
and sent to the secretary of this society. He shall be taken to be a member 
of this society on behalf of such society or company, and shall be included in 
the number of members required to constitute a meeting; and shall be compe- 
tent during the continuance of his appointment to do any act consistent there- 
with which could be done by an individual member; and the appointment of a 
deputy shall be taken to continue until notice of the appointment of some other 
deputy in his stead is so given as above stated. 

84. Conduct of members. — The committee, if they find it requisite, may pass 
resolutions for regulating the conduct of members at meetings, or the time after 
tvhich divisions shall not be taken ; which shall be binding on all the members, 
subject to any resolution of the ordinary business meetings thereon. 

Section 2. — Committee of management. 

85. How committee to be formed. — The business of the society shall be con- 
ducted by a committee of management which, until the first ordinary business 
meeting is held, shall consist of the special members, and after such meeting 
shall consist of the president, treasurer, secretary, and eight committeemen 
elected at such meeting. 

86. Retirement and reeligibility of committeemen. — (1) At each ordinary busi- 
ness meeting such number of the existing committeemen as the society may 
direct, and subject thereto one-fourth part shall retire and an equal number 
shall be elected; the order of retirement being fixed so far as is practicable by 
priority of election, but if necessary by ballot. A retiring committeeman shall 
be immediately reeligible. (2) If a vacancy caused by the retirement of any 
committeeman is not filled up by the meeting by which it ought to have been 
filled under the rules the retiring member may continue to act until the next 
ordinary business meeting. 

87. Removal of members of committee. — A committeeman may be removed from 
office at any time by two-thirds of the members present and voting at a special 
general meeting, which may thereupon proceed to fill up his place by a vote 
of the majority of the members present and voting. 

88. Qualification of a committeeman. — No person can be a committeeman 
who is not a member; and a person who holds any place of profit under the 
society other than an office remunerated in manner provided be rule 105 shall 
be disqualified from being a committeeman ; and any person who accepts such 
a place, or becomes bankrupt, or is concerned in the profits of any contract 
made with the society, except as a member of any society or company which 
contracts with or does any work for it, shall thereupon vacate his office. 

89. Vacancies, how to be filled up. — A vacancy in the number of committee- 
men arising from any such disqualification as aforesaid, or the removal of 
any committeeman whose place is not filled up by the meeting by which he is 
removed, or the death, resignation, incapacity for acting, or refusal to act, of 
any committeeman, shall be filled up with some qualified person (1) if it 
arises in the interval between two ordinary business meetings, by the remaining 
members of the committee, or if not so filled, by the next meeting; (2) if it 
arises at any such meeting, by the meeting, and in the last case any committee- 
man who may resign shall be immediately reeligible. Every person so ap- 
pointed, or elected by the meeting, to fill any vacancy shall be substituted for 
the member who has caused the vacancy, and shall retire from office at the 
time when such member would have retired. 

90. General powers of the committee. — The committee shall control all busi- 
ness carried on by or on account of the society, receive and give receipts for 
all moneys due to it, determine all purchases or sales, and the prices to be paid 
or charged for the same, and make all contracts entered into by or on behalf 
of the society for any of the objects for which it is formed, including all pur- 
chases and contracts relating to land, excepting such (if any) as the society 
may direct to be subject to the approval or authorization of a general meeting, 
and if the society has any land, building, or mortgage rules subject to these; 



COOPEBATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 225 

and all such contracts shall be signed and attested as they direct from time 
to time. They may, from time to time, engage, remove, or discharge all man- 
agers, salesmen, or employees of any description required to conduct any such 
business, and fix their duties, salaries, or other remuneration, at such rates, and 
require them to give such security, either in the forms hereinafter contained, or 
in such other forms approved of by them as they determine. They shall decide 
on the evidence to be produced for establishing the claim of any nominee, ex- 
ecutor, administrator, or official trustee to any share in the society; and may in- 
stitute, prosecute, compromise, or refer to arbitration any suit, debt, liability, or 
claim against, by, to, or on the society ; and in any case for which the rules of 
the society do not expressly provide may exercise any power which could be 
exercised by the society in general meeting other than such as by the law for 
the time being relating to industrial and provident societies may be required 
to be exercised by such meetings, and so that in the exercise of any such power 
they do nothing inconsistent with the previous resolutions of such meetings. 
And all acts or orders done or given by the committee in the name and on 
behalf of the society under any power hereby given them shall bind the society 
and every member thereof as fully as if they had been acts or orders of a 
majority of the members of the society, at a general meeting thereof, acting 
in exercise of the powers given them by the rules. 

91. The committee to summon meetings, provide books, etc. — It shall be the 
duty of the committee, under such penalties, if any, as the society may direct : 

(1) To convene all meetings of the society according to the rules thereof, 
subject to the provisions hereinbefore contained as to special general meetings. 

(2) To provide proper books for entering the accounts of all business carried 
on on behalf of the society, and the minutes of all meetings thereof, and of 
their own proceedings, and for making all such entries as are hereby required, 
or as any general meeting may direct. 

(3) To provide such forms as are necessary in consequence of the provisions 
of the rules, and for the same being kept, made up, or used in such manner as 
in their discretion they think desirable. 

(4) To provide a sufficient supply of copies of the annual returns and books 
of rules to comply with the directions of rule 126. 

92. The committee to lay statement of accounts and report before the general 
meetings. — The committee shall prepare a statement of the accounts of the 
society, in such form as the ordinary business meetings direct from time to 
time, and lay them, duly audited by the persons appointed to audit the same, 
before each ordinary business meeting, unless such meetings direct otherwise, 
and in that case before such meetings as they may direct, accompanied by a 
report on the position of the affairs of the society, signed by the chairman of 
the meeting at which such report is adopted. 

93. Time, place of meeting, and quorum of the committee. — The committee 
shall meet at such times and places as the ordinary business meetings direct, 
and, so far as no such direction extends, at such times and places as they 
determine, but shall not proceed to business unless three members are present. 
No member of the committee shall vote on a question in which he is personally 
interested. 

94. Fines for nonattendance. — The ordinary business meetings may impose 
fines on any member of the committee for nonattendance, provided that no 
such fine is retrospective. 

95. Chairman of the committee. — Every meeting of the committee shall have 
a chairman, who shall be the president of the society if present, and in his 
absence such one of the members of the committee as they appoint. The 
majority of votes shall decide, but the chairman shall have a second casting 
vote. 

96. Special meetings of the committee. — A special meeting of the committee 
may be called by a notice in writing given to the secretary by two members 
one clear day. before such time. The secretary shall communicate every such 
notice to all members of the committee as soon as possible after the receipt 
thereof ; and no other business shall be done at the meeting than the business 
named therein. 

97. Appointment of subcommittees. — The committee may delegate any of the 
powers hereby given to them to a subcommittee of its own members, who shall, 
in the functions intrusted to them, conform in all respects to the instructions 
given them by the committee. 

34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 15 



226 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

Section 3. — Local committees. 

98. Provision for their appointment. — Any ordinary business meeting may 
provide for the appointment of a local committee for any purpose which appears 
to it likely to promote any object of the society, and may assign for the action 
of any such committee any district which it thinks fit. 

99. Mode of appointment. — A local committee shall consist of such number 
of members, appointed in such way, either by nomination of the committee, or 
election of the members whether generally or under any local limitation, as 
the meeting authorizing its appointment directs. 

100. Functions of the local committees. — A local committee shall be governed 
by the provisions following: 

(1) A local committee shall at the first meeting after its appointment, and 
afterwards at the first meeting in each year from that date, elect a chairman 
and a secretary, each of whom shall continue in office for 12 months if they 
continue on such committee, and shall be reeligible, and shall fill up vacancies 
in either office as they may arise. 

(2) The secretary of a local committee shall convene all meetings thereof, 
and keep a record of the attendances of the members and the resolutions 
come to, and shall return to the committee the names and addresses of any 
members not appointed by the committee, as soon as possible after their 
appointment. 

(3) A local committee shall discharge any local work which the committee 
may require it to undertake, and shall be specially charged with the duty — 

(a) Of visiting any branch belonging to the society in the district assigned 
to it. 

(I)) Of advising with the manager thereof on any matter in their judgment 
tending to the improvement of the management or the increase of its sales. 

(c) Of bringing before the committee anything relating to the quality or 
price of the goods, or the conduct of the business at any such branch, which 
appears to it to be faulty. 

(4) A local committee may be employed to take the stock of any such branch. 

(5) A local committee shall have the management of all meetings of members 
within the district assigned to it, and shall have the primary duty of seeking 
to add new members, and inducing the members to support the society, and 
thus keeping up and developing the principles and benefits of cooperation. 

(6) No local committee shall have authority to pledge the credit of the 
society or involve it in any expense, except in virtue of a written order signed 
by the secretary of the society, and to the extent therein expressed. 

Section 4. — Officers of the society. 

101. Appointment of president, treasurer, and secretary. — There shall be a 
secretary and treasurer of the society, and a presiding officer with the title of 
president; and the following regulations shall apply to each of the officers 
aforesaid : 

(1) He shall be elected at the first ordinary business meeting of the society 
after it is registered, and subsequently at the first ordinary business meeting 
in each year. 

(2) He must be a member of the society, and shall be disqualified from office 
by the same circumstances which are disqualifications for a committeeman, and 
shall be removable from office by such a majority as can remove a committeemau. 

(3) He shall be reeligible, and if no successor is appointed on the termination 
of his office shall continue in office until the next regular period of election. 

(4) A vacancy in his office shall be filled up at the next ordinary business 
meeting after it occurs, and if not then filled up by the members may be filled 
up by the committee. 

(5) The person appointed to fill up a vacancy shall continue in office only 
till the regular time of election, subject to provision (3). 

102. Duties of these officers. — The duties of the officers appointed under 
rule 101 shall respectively be as follows : 

(1) The president, or presiding officer, by whatever title he is called — 
(a) Shall take the chair, if present, at all meetings of the society or the 
committee. 

(6) He shall sign the reports to be laid before the meetings of the society, 
which shall be previously submitted to and approved of by the committee. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 227 

(2) The treasurer — 

(a) Shall supervise the accouuts and payments of the society, which shall 
be entered in the books thereof as he from time to time directs, subject to the 
orders of the committee. 

(&) He shall lay before the commitee at such times as they direct, and, in 
default of any other direction, at the first meeting in every month, a statement 
of the business of the society, showing such particulars as the committee 
require. 

(c) He shall discharge other functions relating to the receipts or payments of 
the society which the committee may direct. 

(d) Any general meeting may substitute the bankers of the society in place 
of the treasurer, in which case any duties hereby assigned to the treasurer may 
be discharged in such manner as the meeting directs, and the election of an 
officer as treasurer shall cease to be made; but the meeting may substitute an 
additional committeeman, and fix the time of his retirement. 

(3) The secretary — 

(a) Shall summon and attend all meetings of the society and of the com- 
mittee, and of any subcommittee, if so required by the committee, and shall 
keep minutes thereof in such manner as the committee direct. 

(6) He shall make such returns relating to the business of the society as 
the committee require. 

(c) He shall have charge of the documents and other papers of the society, 
and if required by the committee shall keep the accounts in such manner as 
they direct. 

(d) He shall keep all the books relating to shares, loans, or deposits re- 
quired to be kept under the rules of the society, and the list of members, and 
shall receive all contributions, fines, and other payments due from the members 
to the society, and keep the accounts thereof, and pay over the amount so 
received as the committee directs. 

(e) He shall prepare and send all returns required to be made to the 
registrar. 

(/) He shall in all things act in the discharge of his duties under the direc- 
tion and control of the committee. 

(4) Generally. — It shall be the duty of every officer of the society having 
the receipt or charge of any moneys thereof, his executors or administrators, 
at such time as the society may direct, and subject thereto as the committee 
require, or upon demand made, or notice in writing given or left at his last 
or usual place of residence, to give in his account, as may be required by the 
society or the committee, to be examined and allowed or disallowed by them, 
and on the like demand or notice to pay over all moneys, and deliver all 
property for the time being in his hands or custody to such person as the 
society or the committee appoint. (See the act, sec. 48.) 

103. Officers appointed by the committee. — If the society directs that any 
officer to whom the provisions of rule 102 apply shall be appointed by the com- 
mittee, the committee may from time to time determine the duties of the 
officer so appointed by them ; but, subject to any such determination, his duties 
shall be as is therein defined. 

104. Assistants to secretary. — The committee may from time to time appoint 
such clerks or other assistants as may be required to aid the secretary, whether 
he is elected by the society or appointed by the committee. 

105. Remuneration of officers. — The ordinary business meetings shall from time 
to time determine the remuneration of the secretary if elected at such meetings, 
and may remunerate the president, treasurer, committeemen, or any other 
member for their services as they think fit. 

106. Security by officers. — It shall be the duty of every person holding any 
office touching the receipt or charge of any moneys of the society, under the 
penalty of fl, before entering on the execution of his office, either to enter into 
an agreement or to become bound, with or without a surety as the committee 
require, according to the forms in rule 138, or such forms as they approve 
from time to time, or to give the security of a guarantee society in such sum 
as they direct, for rendering a full and true account of all moneys received 
or paid by him on account of the society, at such times as the rules fix or as 
the committee require, and for the payment of all sums due from him to the 
society. (See the act, sec. 47.) 



228 COOPEKATIOST AND the cost of living. 

Section 5. — Conduct of business. 

107. Dealings shall be for cash. — All goods sold by the society shall be paid 
for on delivery ; or, if the committee so direct, on order. 

108. Payment of moneys into bank. — All moneys received from the members 
or otherwise on behalf of the society shall be placed to the account of the 
society with such bank as the committee may select ; and if not impracticable 
tvith some banking society or company which is a member of the Cooperative 
Union (Ltd.) ; and, if the moneys of the society can not conveniently be thus 
disposed of, shall be kept in such custody as the committee direct from time 
to time. 

109. Payment by cheques, subject to the direction of any general meeting. — 
When a banking account is opened all payments above such sum as the general 
meetings fix from time to time, and subject thereto £5 shall be made by cheques, 
signed as the society may direct and subject thereto by two of the committee, 
countersigned by the secretary. 

110. Seal of the society, its custody and use. — The society shall have its 
name engraven in legible characters upon a seal, which shall be in the custody 
of the secretary, and shall be used only under the authority of a resolution of 
the committee, the date whereof shall be mentioned on the instrument to 
which the seal is attached ; and shall be attested by the signature of two mem- 
bers of the committee and the countersign of the secretary. (See the act, 
Schedule II (11).) 

111. Use of name of the society. — The name of the society shall be mentioned 
in legible characters in all notices, advertisements, and official publications, 
bills of exchange, promissory notes, indorsements, checks, or orders for money 
or goods purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the society, and on all 
bills of parcels, invoices, receipts, or letters of credit of the society, and sball 
be conspicuously painted or affixed, and kept painted or affixed in letters 
easily legible on the outside of every office or place of business of the society. 
(See the act, sec. 66.) 

112. Complaints and suggestions by members. — A member who has any com- 
plaint to make as to the quality, quantity, or price of any goods supplied by 
the society, or the conduct of any officer or servant of the society, or any sug- 
gestions for better carrying into effect the objects of the society, shall send 
the particulars of such complaint or suggestion to the committee, who shall 
inquire into and decide upon them, subject to an appeal from any such decision 
to an ordinary business meeting ; but no such complaint shall be brought before 
any such meeting except on appeal. 

113. Employment of members. — Except the committee should direct otherwise 
in any case, the holding shares in the society shall not be required as a condition 
of employment. 

Section 6. — Federation'. 

114. This society shall become a member of the Cooperative Union (Ltd.) and 
of the Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.). 

Section 7. — Evidence. 

115. Minutes to be evidence of proceedings. — The minutes of all meetings of 
the society or committee, containing such particulars as the committee direct 
from time to time, shall be regularly recorded by the secretary ; and the min- 
utes of every monthly or ordinary business meeting of the society, and of every 
meeting of the committee, shall be read at the next of such meetings, respec- 
tively, and signed by the chairman of the meeting at which they are so read, 
and the minutes of every special general meeting shall be read at the meeting 
of the committee following, and signed by the chairman of such meeting; and 
all minutes so signed shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be taken 
as between the society and every member thereof to be a true statement of any 
matter therein contained, subject to the correction of any patent error. 

116. What to be sufficient notice. — Every member shall be taken to have due 
notice of every meeting, resolution, or other matter of which notice is required 
by the rules of the society to be given, if the same is made known in such 
manner as the society may direct, and subject thereto and to any special direc- 
tion in these rules by posting or sending a notice to the registered address of 
such member. 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 229 

Chapter VII. — Accounts and Returns. 
Section 1. — The auditors. 

117. Subject to the appointment of any public auditor there shall be two 
auditors. 

(1) The auditors shall be elected at the first ordinary business meeting of 
the society after it is registered ; and afterwards one shall retire and one shall 
be elected at each ordinary business meeting, the order of retirement of the 
first auditors being fixed by themselves. 

(2) A retiring auditor shall be reeligible. 

(3) A vacancy in the appointment of an auditor may be filled up by the 
committee. 

(4) No servant of the society can be auditor. 

(5) Any such meeting, in lieu of electing an auditor, may direct that the 
accounts shall be audited by a public auditor appointed under the act named 
thereby; and thereupon the appointment of the then continuing auditor shall 
be vacated, and the audit shall be conducted by such public auditor. 

(6) Any subsequent general meeting may vary such direction by substituting 
the name of another public auditor, or by a resolution whereof notice has been 
given, as in the case of a special general meeting, may rescind the same; and 
thereupon the meeting shall elect auditors, who shall retire and be reeligible 
as is provided by clauses (1) to (3). 

118. Duties of the auditors: 

(1) General. — The auditors shall audit the accounts of the society, to be 
prepared by the committee as hereinbefore provided, for the period intervening 
from the formation of the society, or their last audit, to such time as the 
society may direct, and subject thereto to the beginning of the last calendar 
month previous to each ordinary business meeting, and shall lay before it 
a balance sheet of the receipts and expenditures of the society, during the 
period to which the audit extends, and a statement of its assets and liabilities 
at the time of such audit, both signed by them, which shall specify the total 
amount of all moneys borrowed by the society, distinguishing the character of 
the securities on which each is obtained. 

(2) Annual return. — The auditors shall examine the annual return after- 
mentioned and verify the same with the accounts relating thereto, and shall 
either sign the same as found by them to be correct, duly vouched, and in 
accordance with law, or specially report to the society in what respects they 
find it incorrect, unvouched, or not in accordance with law. (See the act, 
sec. 14.) 

119. Powers of the auditors. — The auditors shall be entitled to call for and 
examine any paper or document belonging to the society and shall make a 
special report to the society upon any matter connected with the accounts 
which appears to them to require notice. 

120. Audited accounts to be binding on the members. — Every balance sheet 
signed by the auditors, and approved of by the meeting to which it is presented, 
shall be binding on all members of the society, excepting as to any error therein 
exceeding the sum of £10 brought before the next ordinary business meeting. 

121. Copy of accounts and report. — A copy of the last balance sheet of the 
society and of the report of the auditors shall be kept always hung up in a 
conspicuous place in the registered office of the society. (See the act, sec. 16.) 

122. Remuneration of the auditors. — The auditors shall receive such re- 
muneration as the ordinary business meetings vote them from time to time. 

Section 2. — Inspection of books and affairs. 

123. Right of inspection of books: 

(1) Any member or person having an interest in the funds of the society 
may inspect his own account and the books containing the names of the mem- 
bers at all reasonable hours at the registered office of the society, or at any 
place where the same are kept, subject to such regulations as to the time and 
manner of such inspection as may be made from time to time by the general 
meetings of the society. 

(2) Any 10 members, each of whom has been a member of the society for 
not less than 12 months, may apply to the register for the appointment of an 
accountant or actuary to inspect the books of the society and report thereon. 



230 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

Such accountant or actuary shall have power to make copies of any books of 
the society, and take extracts therefrom, at all reasonable hours, at the regis- 
tered office of the society, or at any place where the books are kept. (See the 
act, sec. 18 (1), (3).) 

124. Inspection of affairs on order of the registrar. — 

(1) An application may be made under section 50 of the act — 

(a) To appoint one or more inspectors to examine into the affairs of the 
society and to report thereon. 

(b) To call a special meeting of the society in manner and for the purposes 
provided by such sections. 

(2) The application may be made by one-tenth part of the whole number of 
members, or if the society exceeds 1,000 members, by 100 members. 

(3) The application must be supported by such evidence for the purpose of 
showing that the applicants have good reason for requiring such inspection to 
be made or meeting called, and are not actuated by malicious motives therein, 
and be made on such notice to the society as the chief registrar directs. 

(4) Unless the registrar to whom it is made directs otherwise, all expenses 
of and incidental to any inspection or meeting ordered by him shall be defrayed 
out of the funds of the society. ( See the act, sec. 50. ) 

Section 3. — Annual return. 

125. What and when to be made. — 

(1) The committee shall, at such time before the 31st day of March in each 
year as they determine, send to the registrar a general statement, to be called 
the annual return, of the receipts and expenditure, funds and effects of the 
society as audited, which — 

(a) Shall show separately the expenditure in respect of the several objects 
of the society. 

(6) Shall be made up to its last published balance sheet, provided that the 
date of such balance sheet is not more than one month before or after the 31st 
day of December then last, or otherwise up to the 31st day of December then 
last inclusively. 

(c) Shall state whether the audit has been conducted by a public auditor 
appointed as by the act is provided, and by whom. 

(d) If the audit has been conducted by any person other than a public 
auditor, shall state the name, address, and calling or profession of each such 
person, and the manner in which and the authority under which he is appointed. 

(2) Together with such return the committee shall send a copy of every 
auditor's report during the year whereto the same return relates. (See the 
act, sec. 14.) 

126. Copies of annual return and rules. — It shall be the duty of the committee 
to supply to every member or person interested in the funds of the society, on 
his application — 

(1) Gratuitously a copy of the last annual return for the time being of the 
society. (See the act, sec. 15.) 

(2) To every person on demand a copy of the rules at such price, not exceed- 
ing Is., as the committee fix from time to time. (See the act, sec. 10 (4).) 

Chapter VIII. — Profits. 

PRIMARY CHARGES. 

127. The profits of all business carried on by, or on account of, the society 
shall be applied as follows : 

(1) Interest on loans. — In payment of the interest upon any loans or deposits, 
and the dividend on preferential shares, according to the rates respectively 
agreed to be paid. 

(2) Reduction of fixed stock, etc. — In reduction of the value of the fixed stock 
and plant of the society, at the annual rate of 10 per cent on fixtures, and of 
21 per cent on shops, warehouses, and other buildings. 

(3) Reduction of preliminary expenses. — In the reduction of the preliminary 
expenses (if any) incurred in forming the society, and remaining unwritten 
off in its books, at such rate, being not less than 5 per cent per annum, as the 
ordinary business meetings on the recommendation of the committee from time 
to time direct. 

(4) Interest on share capital. — In payment of interest upon the share capital 
of the society at such rate, not exceeding 5 per cent per annum, as the ordinary 
business meetings may from time to time direct. 






COOPEEATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 231 

(5) Reserve fund. — In forming, by applying such percentage of the net 
profits as the committee determine, a reserve fu&d, to which all fines shall be 
carried, applicable by a resolution of the ordinary business meetings, on the 
proposal either of the committee or an individual member, and in regard to 
which notice has been given on the balance sheet — 

(a) To the equalization of dividends. 

(b) To meet any other contingency affecting the business of the society. 

(c) To any other purpose which the general meetings may from time to time 
direct, whether such purpose be charitable, philanthropic, of public utility, or 
any other purpose whether within the objects for which the society is formed 
or not. 

(6) Educational fund. — In promoting instruction, culture, or recreation by 
forming an education fund to which 2\ per cent of the net profits, or such other 
sum or percentage as any ordinary business meeting may resolve, shall be 
carried. 

(7) Congress fund. — In paying, while the society continues a member of 
the Cooperative Union Limited, such subscription to its funds as the rules and 
orders of the union fix. 

(8) Social fund. — In promoting any other social or provident purpose author- 
ized by any special general meeting, or any two successive ordinary business 
meetings, by applying thereto such sums as the ordinary business meetings 
may vote. 

(9) Division of remaining profits. — The remainder of the net profits left after 
providing for the preceding charges shall be divided between — 

(a) The members who have made purchases of the society during the period 
to which the division relates according to the amount of their purchases. 

(&) The nonmembers who have made purchases of the society during such 
period according to the amount of their purchases, provided that the sum so 
divided shall not exceed one-half of the sum to which they would be entitled 
as members. 

(c) The employees of the society at such rate, not less than one-fourth pence 
in the pound on the gross sales, and one-half pence in the pound on net profits, 
as the ordinary business meetings fix, to be divided among them as such 
meetings direct. 

(10) All dividends not withdrawn within one calendar month after they 
become receivable shall be applied in or toward the payment of shares, which 
shall be subject to the same conditions as to withdrawal as are in force in 
respect to all other shares, and shall be credited to the members respectively 
in the books of the society until the number of shares held by any member 
reaches the limit allowed by the act, or such inferior limit as the general meet- 
ings may fix, after which they shall be credited to such members as loans, 
withdrawable on such notice, not less than one calendar month, as the com- 
mittee may determine from time to time. No fine shall be charged in respect 
of any share so placed to the credit of any member. 

128. Educational, provident, and social funds. — Mode of dealing toith — Special 
accounts and committees for. — The funds appropriated under provisions (6) 
and (8) of rule 127 shall be applied for their respective objects in such manner 
as the ordinary business meetings direct from time to time, and separate ac- 
counts shall be kept thereof. In every case where specific funds are voted for 
educational, provident, or social purposes a separate account shall be kept of 
all sums voted for such purposes, and a special committee of such number of 
members, appointed in such manner as is fixed by such ordinary business meet- 
ings from time to time, shall be named in each case, who shall be responsible to 
them for the due application of the funds placed under their care; and the 
accounts of all such funds shall be regularly audited by the auditors of the 
society and submitted to the ordinary business meeting, at such periods as 
they direct from time to time, and subject thereto at each such meeting. 

Chapter IX. — Disputes and Expulsion of Members. 

129. Disputes — How to be determined. — Every dispute between a member of 
this society or any person aggrieved, who has for not more than six months 
ceased to be a member of this society, or any person claiming through such 
member or person aggrieved, or claiming under the rules of this society, and 
the society or an officer thereof, shall be decided in the following manner : 

(1) Appointment of arbitrators. — At the first or any subsequent general meet- 
ing of the society after this rule is registered, five arbitrators shall be elected, 
none of whom are directly or indirectly interested in the funds of the society. 



232 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

(2) Mode of selection. — In any case of dispute the secretary of the society, 
or such other person as the committee direct, shall in the presence of the 
member or person aggrieved or claiming, or some person appointed by him, 
write the names of the arbitrators for the time being upon separate pieces of 
paper, and place them so that the names shall be concealed in a box or other 
receptacle, from which such member or person shall draw out three; the per- 
sons whose names are so drawn shall be the arbitrators to decide the dispute. 

(3) Vacancies in the number of arbitrators shall be filled by the first general 
meeting after they occur, and if not then, filled by the committee. 

(4) The cost of an arbitration shall be borne as the arbitrators direct, and 
each party shall deposit 10s. to abide their decision. 

(5) Where the dispute is between the legal personal representative or the 
nominee of a deceased member and the society, and the question at issue is — 
Who is entitled to the whole or any portion of the property of such deceased 
member in the society, and either claimant applies to the society for arbitration, 
the secretary of the society shall give to each claimant notice in writing, fixing 
a day and hour for the parties to attend at the society's registered office for 
the selection of arbitrators, in the mode set out in clause 2 of this rule, by 
such of the claimants as attend. 

(6) When the arbitrators have made their award on any dispute they shall 
send a copy of the award to the secretary of the society. 

(7) The arbitration act, 1889, or any act amending the same, shall not apply 
to any arbitration under this rule. 

130. How a member may be expelled. — A member may be expelled by the 
vote of two-thirds of the members present at a special general meeting of the 
society, upon a charge in writing of conduct detrimental to the society, com- 
municated to him, by order of the committee, one calendar month before the 
meeting. 

131. Payment of expelled members. — A member so expelled shall be paid the 
full sum paid on any shares in the society held by him at the date of the 
resolution for his expulsion; and all transferable shares held by him shall be 
extinguished upon such payment being tendered, whether the member accept 
the tender or not; and an entry referring to the minute of expulsion and the 
date of such tender shall be made on the register of shares under all such 
shares. 

132. Readmission of expelled member. — No expelled member shall be read- 
mitted except by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at an ordinary 
business meeting, on a motion of which notice has been given. 

Chapter X. — Alteration of Rules. 

133. Majority requisite to make alterations. — Any rule of the society not 
declared to be fundamental in manner hereinafter stated, may be repealed or 
altered, or any new rule be made, by a majority of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers voting at any special general meeting. 

134. Fundamental rules. — The special rules of the society may declare any 
rule of the society therein mentioned, including this provision, to be funda- 
mental ; and no rule comprised in such declaration shall be repealed or altered 
without such consent so given as is thereby specified. 

135. Additions or alterations. — Application for the registration of every addi- 
tion, repeal, or alteration shall be made to the registrar for the country where 
the society is established, in manner and form required by the treasury regu- 
lations, as soon as is practicable after the same has been made; and a copy 
thereof shall be issued with every copy of the rules issued after the registra- 
tion thereof. No amendment of rules is valid until registered. 

Chapter XI. — Change of Name, Amalgamation, Conversion Into a Company, 

and Dissolution. 

136. Change of name, etc. — This society may, by special resolution passed in 
manner prescribed by the act — 

(1) Change its name, with the approval of the registrar 1 in writing. 

(2) Amalgamate with or transfer its engagements to any other society or 
company, or accept any such transfer. 

1 The chief registrar in England or the assistant registrar for Ireland or Scotland, 
if the society is registered, and does business exclusively there. 






COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 233 

(3) Convert itself into a company under the companies acts as in the act 
prescribed. (See the act, sec. 54.) 

137. Dissolution. — The society may be voluntarily dissolved — 

(1) By a resolution to wind it up, made as is directed in regard to com- 
panies by the companies acts, 1862 to 1890. 

(2) By an instrument of dissolution signed by three-fourths of the mem- 
bers for the time being, and in the form prescribed by the treasury regula- 
tions. (See sec. 58&.) 

Chapter XII. — Forms of Instruments. 

138. Instruments sJiall have the following forms. — The instruments referred 
to in the preceding rules shall be in the forms following, or as near thereto 
as the case allows. The date, the name of the society, and, if the case re- 
quires, an address to the committee shall in all cases be prefixed : 

(1) Application for admission by an individual — 

(a) By application for shares. — I, the undersigned, hereby apply for 

(transferable) or (withdrawable) shares in the above-named society, in re- 
spect of which I agree to make the payments required by the rules of the 
society, and otherwise to be bound thereby. (Signature of applicant, stating 
his address and occupation.) 

(b) By payment for a copy of rules. — Received this day a copy of the rules 
of the above-named society, for which I have paid (on account of the under- 
mentioned applicant 1 ) the sum required to be paid on an application for ad- 
mission to the society. (Signature as above, or if the payment is made by any 
other person than the applicant, of this person, stating the name, address, and 
occupation of the applicant.) 

(2) Application for shares by a society or company. — We, the undersigned, 

secretary and two of the committee of management of the (society 

limited), hereinafter called the applicant, in virtue of a resolution thereof, 
dated the day of , hereby apply on its behalf for (transfer- 
able) or (withdrawable) shares in the above-named society, in respect of 
which the applicant hereby agrees to make all payments required by the rules 
of the above-named society, and otherwise to be bound thereby. In witness 
whereof we have signed our names hereto, by the authority of the society. 
(Signatures of the members of the committee, and countersign of the secre- 
tary, stating respectively their qualifications as such, and the registered office 
of the applicant.) 

The same form applies to a company, substituting company, with or with- 
out limited as the case may be, for (society limited), and board of directors 
for committee. 

(3) Transfer between individuals. — This instrument, made the day of 

, 18 — , between A of , and B of , witnesses, that in con- 
sideration of the sum of £ , paid by the said B to me, I, the said A, 

hereby transfer to the said B, his executors, administrators, and assigns, the 

shares, numbered , now standing in my name in the books of 

the above-named society, to hold the said shares upon the same conditions on 
which I now hold the same, and that I, the said B, hereby accept the said 
shares, subject to the said conditions. In witness whereof we have hereto 

set our hands. 

, Name of Transferor. 

, Name of Transferee. 

(4) Transfer between societies or companies. — This instrument, made the 
. day of , 18 — , between the Society Limited, established at 

-, hereinafter called the vendor, of the one part, and the Society 



Limited, established at , hereinafter called the purchaser, of the other 

part, in consideration of £ paid by the purchaser to the vendor, witnesses 

that the vendor hereby transfers the shares, numbered now 

standing in the name of the vendor in the books of the above-named society, 
to the purchaser, and the assigns of such purchaser, to hold the same upon the 
same conditions on which they are held by the vendor ; and that the purchaser 
accepts the said shares subject to the said conditions. In witness whereof the 
seals of the said societies are hereto attached, by the resolutions of the com- 
mittees thereof, dated, respectively, the day of and the day 

of . 



i Omit the words in parenthesis if the payment is made by the applicant. 



234 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

N. B. — The seals of the societies and signatures of the committee and secre- 
tary must be affixed as in form (2). The same form applies, with the necessary 
changes, to transfers between companies. 

(5) Agreement or bond of security by officers in England or Ireland. — (See 
the act, Schedule III (1).) 

(a) Without a surety. — This agreement, made the day of be- 
tween A B, of , and the Society Limited, established at , 

in the county of , herein called the Society. Whereas the said 

A B has been appointed to the office of in the society on condition of 

his entering into this agreement. Now it is hereby witnessed as follows: 

The society agrees with the said A B, (state salary or other equiv- 
alent, if any ; if not, omit this part altogether. ) The said A B, in consideration 

of the premises, agrees with the Society to render a just and true 

account of all moneys received and paid by him on account of the society at 
such times as the rules thereof appoint, and to pay over all the moneys remain- 
ing in his hands, and assign and transfer or deliver over all property (including 
books and papers) belonging to the society in his hands or custody to such 
person or persons as the society or the committee thereof appoint, according to 
the rules of the society, together with the proper and legal vouchers for such 
payments. 

And in case of any default in performance of these agreements, then that he, 
his heirs, executors, or administrators, shall pay the society the sum of 

f as liquidated damages. In witness whereof the said A B and the 

undersigned C D, in the name and by the authority of the society, have set 
their hands the year and day first aforesaid. 

A B. 
(Description of office, if any, held by him in the society.) 

O D. 

(Witness to the signatures.) 

(b) With a surety. — Know all men by these presents that we, A B, of , 

one of the officers of the Society Limited, established at , in the 

county of , and C D, of , as surety for and on behalf of the said 

A B, are jointly and severally held and firmly bound to the said society in the 

sum of , to be paid to the said society or their certain attorney, for which 

payment well and truly to be made we jointly and severally bind ourselves and 
each of us by himself, our and each of our heirs, executors, and administrators, 
firmly by these presents sealed with our seals. 

Dated this day of . 

Whereas the above bounden A B has been duly appointed to the office 

of of the society established as aforesaid, and he, together with the 

above bounden C D, as his surety, have entered into the above-contained bond, 
subject to the conditions hereinafter contained ; now, therefore, the condition 
of the above-contained bond is such that if the said A B do render a just and 
true account of all moneys received and paid by him on account of the said 
society, at such times as the rules thereof appoint, and do pay over all the 
moneys remaining in his hands, and assign and transfer or deliver over all- 
property (including books and papers) belonging to the said society in his hands 
or custody to such person or persons as the said society or the committee thereof 
appoint, according to the rules of the said society, together with the proper 
and legal vouchers for such payments, then the above-contained bond shall be 
void, but otherwise shall remain in full force, 

(The seals and signatures of the officer and surety should be affixed here. 
The seal may be a wafer put opposite the name of the signing party, on which 
he should put one finger, and say, " I deliver this as my act and deed." ) 

Sealed and delivered in the presence of us — 

C D, of . 

E F, of . 

(There must be two witnesses to each signature, but the same persons may 
witness both. If the officer and his surety sign before different witnesses, the 
form of witnessing should be repeated. 

The reason of using an agreement instead of a bond where there is no surety 
is that an agreement, if not under seal, is liable to a stamp duty of 6d. only, 
while a bond is liable to duty at the rate of 2s. 6d. for every £100, while an 
agreement is equally effectual in this case. For a surety a .bond is preferable 
as more safe against legal objection.) 

(c) In Scotland. — Form of bond of surety. (See the act, Schedule III. (2).) 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 235 

I, A B, of , hereby bind and oblige myself to the extent of £ ! — at 

most, as caution and security for C D, a person employed by the Society, 

Limited, that he, the said C D, shall, on demand, faithfully and truly account 
for all moneys received and paid by him for behoof of the said society, and also 
assign and transfer or deliver over all property, including books and papers, 
belonging to the said society in his hands or custody, and that to such person or 
persons as the said society, or the committee thereof, appoint, according to the 
rules of the said society. 

Dated at this day of . 

(Signature of cautioner.) 

E F, of , witness. 

G H, of , witness. 

N. B. — The act provides that the above bond shall not require a testing clause 
or a subscription clause, and may be wholly written or wholly printed, or partly 
written and partly printed. 

(6) Condition of a bond by or as security for a manager or storekeeper who 
has charge of goods as ivell as of money. — The condition of the above-written 
bond is such that if the said A B discharge the duties of his said office without 
embezzling, misapplying, unlawfully making away with, or wilfully or carelessly 
wasting or losing any of the moneys, goods, chattels, merchandise, or effects in 
his charge or keeping, and do render a just and true account, etc. (as in Form 5). 

(7) Deed of statutory mortgage. — This indenture made by way of statutory 

mortgage the day of , 18 — , between the Society, Limited, 

established at , in the County of , of the one part, and , of 

, of the other part, witnesseth that in consideration of the sum of 

pounds sterling now paid to the said society by the said , of which sum 

the society hereby acknowledge the receipt, the society, as mortgagor and bene- 
ficial owner, hereby conveys to the said all those lands mentioned in the 

schedule hereto annexed, to hold to, and for the use of the said , in fee 

simple, for securing payment on the day of , 18 — , of the principle 

sum of pounds sterling as the mortgage money, with interest thereon at 

the rate of — per centum per annum. In witness whereof, the seal of the 
society, attested as is required by the rules thereof, has been hereto attached the 
year and day first aforesaid. 

SCHEDULE. 



Name of land. 


Situation. 


Quantity. 

































Variations may be made in this form if required for leasehold and other matters. (See the conveyancing 
and law of property act, 1881, Schedule III, Pt. I.) 

The foregoing rules are the general rules referred to in the special rules 
signed by us. 



-, Secretary. 



CARDIFF, WALES, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

[Inclosure in dispatch dated Dec. 31, 1911.] 

COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

The western section of the Cooperative Union of the United Kingdom in- 
cludes the thickly populated coal field of South Wales, and covers a district 
whose population is 2,750,000. 

There were in 1910, 97 affiliated societies in this section with a membership 
of 82,354, a total share capital of $4,000,000, trade stocks to the value of 
$1,700,000, real estate and other investments exceeding $1,500,000, and employ- 
ing 2,700 people, to whom were paid wages and salaries in 1910, $750,000. 



236 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

Their sales in 1910 were to the value of nearly $15,000,000, their net profits, 
$2,000,000. This trading profit of 13 per cent plus, is the approximate measure 
of the saving to the cooperator in the cost of household supplies. 

There are no important productive concerns in the district, nor has coopera- 
tion as applied to farming, or to the marketing of farm products, made more 
than a beginning. But cooperation in distribution is locally important, and 
especially in the coal-mining districts. 

Any group of men may start a cooperative store anywhere. The method 
may be best illustrated by giving an account of the origin of a typical coopera- 
tive distributive society. 

At Aberamon in the coal field is the head office of the Owmbach Industrial 
Cooperative Society, the pioneer in Wales, established in 1860. Fifty-six coal 
miners gathered in an inn in October, 1859. Of these 19 had sufficient 
money in their pockets to pay the entrance fee of 26 cents, and only 3 men 
could pay down $25 each toward capital. It took 5 months to collect the 
small sum thought necessary to begin trading with. They rented a small store, 
and sent a member of the board of directors to a neighboring town to pur- 
chase a hundred pounds of cheese, 10 pounds of tea, and smaller quantities of 
sugar, soap, candles, and tobacco. These goods were delivered by canal, and 
the coal miners themselves carried them from the quay to the store. The 
committee on the opening night put on white aprons and sold goods to the 
value of $1.80. 

Refused credit by wholesale dealers, they bought in small quantities with cash. 
Their turnover for the first quarter was $2,800, and their net profit divided 
among the members was 5 per cent on their purchases with $80 carried over 
to the next quarter. 

The capital of this society is now $437,000. Its turnover in 1910, was 
$1,700,000. The profits for the year, after paying interest on capital, and 
after conservative depreciation allowances on buildings, was $227,000. The 
dividend in the year to members was 3s. 3d. in the pound; in other words, 
each purchaser of goods to the value of $1 received back a trifle over 16 cents. 

This 16 per cent represents the saving of the members of the society in 1910 
in the purchase of their household needs. 

This society has now 6 large stores from which are supplied all the neces- 
sities and many of the luxuries of life. It maintains 9 butcher shops, 
supplied from its own slaughterhouse where are killed from 15 to 20 cattle a 
week, 200 sheep and lambs, and about 40 pigs. It owns a farm of 200 acres, 
where stock is reared for the slaughterhouse. A herd of cows is kept whose 
milk is exclusively supplied to the stores. It owns 2 bakeries, using up 200 
sacks of flour a week, making bread, cake, and pastry with machinery of the 
latest type. Its buildings represent an investment of nearly $250,000. Con- 
servative bookkeeping has annually debited such sums for depreciation that 
these buildings now stand in the accounts as of the nominal value of $100,000. 

It utilizes its superfluous capital in loans at moderate interest to members, 
and has established a system of easy repayments, receiving sums as low as $25 
at the member's convenience, and deducting interest accordingly. During the 
winter it holds classes, free to students, in which are taught industrial history, 
cooperation, and economics, and for these classes the most competent avail- 
able teachers are engaged. It also maintains and instructs a large children's 
choir. 

The society extends credit to customers of its stores up to three-fourths of 
such member's investment in its share capital. It allows the general public 
to buy at its stores, but does not give credit except to members. Nonmembers 
share in the quarterly dividends, in proportion to the amount of their purchases, 
but their dividend is about one-third of that received by members. 

The secretary informs me that the society has not found much difficulty with 
bad debts, though it has passed through two or three strikes of long duration 
and through periods of great trade depression. The secretary points out that 
it would be impossible to establish cash trading in the mining districts so long 
as the system of " fortnightly pays " continues. 

This society is managed entirely by coal miners, whose families are the cus- 
tomers. It is typical of the many cooperative stores existing throughout the 
district. It is exceptional in its maintenance of a farm, but its long and suc- 
cessful career has accumulated capital which has permitted activities which 
younger societies are unable to emulate. Local conditions have been such 
that this society has not done much in advancing money to members for build- 
ing their own homes. There have been greater opportunities in this direction, 
for instance, in the Cooperative Industrial Society of Newport, Monmouthshire. 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 237 

This society has been in existence 50 years; has in that time divided in 
profits over $750,000 ; has a reserve fund of $45,000, a share capital of $285,000, 
and members to the number of 38,000. In the course of its career it has lent 
$150,000 to members to purchase their own homes. It advances four-fifths of 
the value of the property, and the loans are repaid by monthly installments, 
spread over a term of 12, 14, 17, or 21 years. Interest is calculated at 4£ 
per cent on the balance due at the close of each financial year, and the amount 
can be repaid at any time. This society maintains a very fine choir, which is 
utilized in connection with public meetings and with the lectures which the 
society arranges during the winter months. 

In this society, as in all others, a certain proportion of the members leave 
the dividends on their household purchases to accumulate up to the maximum 
allowed by act of Parliament, $960. The societies thus act as savings banks, 
and the interest averages a fraction over 4 per cent, the maximum being 5 
per cent. 

The activities of cooperators in social work depend on the kind of men in 
local control. In some places the society is merely a distributive organization, 
whose committee interests itself only in buying and selling, and is satisfied 
with a good balance sheet. In other places managers keep the ethical side of 
cooperation constantly in view. They are often able to make the cooperative 
movement a center around which gather varied forms of social and mental 
activity. A series of lectures here; classes for instruction there; a choir, as 
we have seen ; an instrumental band, perhaps. In almost every mining village, 
if enough cooperators agree to receive instruction in any special subject, the 
local society will provide the teacher without charge. 

The founders of cooperation set out to establish a system of trading in which 
the retail buyers should be the owners of the business, in which purchases 
should be paid for with cash, in which the prices should be those of the 
ordinary competing store, in which profit should be returned to the buyer at 
stated periods in proportion to the amount of his purchases, but in which the 
percentage of this periodically returned dividend should be a secondary con- 
sideration. The primary points should be the quality of the goods, and the 
social and intellectual uplift which should result from the combining of men 
desirous of improving social and incidentally material conditions. 

It may said at once that the dividends and their amount have come to be 
so dominant a consideration that the quality of goods in a cooperative store 
is not of more assured excellence than in an ordinary trading store. A group 
of men, supplying their own households with the necessities of life, and com- 
bined in sufficient numbers to make their custom important to the wholesale 
dealer, and able thus to purchase on favorable terms, would be thought to 
insist on products of a superior kind. A little reflection, however, will show 
what has happened. Purchases must be left largely to the expert paid em- 
ployee. A cooperator, busy in earning his living in other directions, can not, 
in a limited number of hours a week, become a wise and expert buyer. It is 
obvious that the employee must, in the end, be judged by the figures of the bal- 
ance sheet. So also is the committee of management. The miner's wife, the 
miner himself, is more interested in the amount of the quarter's dividend than 
in the quality of food consumed by the family. Hence it has come about that 
the cooperative movement has failed to achieve one of its ideals. It is not 
profoundly concerned about pure food. 

The immense incentive to thrift which the daily wage earner finds in cash 
payments has also disappeared in many districts, in especial in the South 
Wales coal fields. Here, the miners are paid wages once in two weeks only, 
and the custom of credit trading is so firmly intrenched that the cooperative 
societies have had to give way to it. 

Two corner stones laid by the idealistic founders have thus been knocked 
away," but not without protest. ' Ardent supporters of the movement, each year 
at the annual congress, strongly criticise these faults and speak against the 
"craze for dividends," and against credit trading. 

There is a powerful tendency, which leaders of the movement struggle against, 
and so far with success. It is possible that this powerful organization may be 
drawn into the political arena. Such an outcome is unlikely but it is a possi- 
bility to be recokened with. In Wales, where cooperators belong almost entirely 
to one party, and where political activities are incessant, attempts have been 
made to swing cooperative interests as a political unit in one direcion. 

The corner stone of cooperation, as practiced in Wales and in the United 
Kingdom, is the retail store. Such store may, or may not. affiliate itself with 



238 COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

the Cooperative Union of the United Kingdom. There are three or four such 
unaffiliated stores in the mining districts, financially successful, and absolutely 
independent. Their course in standing aloof is quite exceptional. Loyalty to 
a principle leads 95 per cent of the distributing stores to ally themselves with the 
central organization ; but this tie is of the slightest, is almost entirely a moral 
union, and does not bind the store in its trading operations. 

The retail store, as a buyer of the commodities which it sells, is unfettered. 
Some of its surplus funds may be invested in the wholesale cooperative store 
of the district, and it then has a financial inducement to buy from that store. 
It may have the same inducement to buy from the productive cooperative 
concerns which manufacture. 

Whether such inducement exists or not the retail store may be said to buy 
from the wholesale store, or the manufacturer, on competitive terms. Thou- 
sands of things are not manufactured by cooperators. Hundreds of things are 
not dealt in by wholesale cooperative stores. The retailer buys these commodi- 
ties from the independent manufacturer or wholesale dealer. It of^en buys 
from the independent trader, when it could be supplied from the wholesale 
cooperative store. Price, quality, special suitability to the needs of customers, 
will deflect business precisely as with an independent retailer. Other things 
being equal, however, the cooperative retailer will support the cooperative 
wholesaler and manufacturer. This elastic tie, this loyalty to a principle, is 
found in practice entirely sufficient to insure success to a well-placed, well- 
managed cooperative wholesale depot. 

The independent wholesale trader or manufacturer is eager to secure the 
custom of an important cooperative store. Their accounts are of great impor- 
tance to him, and he will concede the same favorable terms on large orders as 
he will to independent retailers. His traveling salesmen visit the cooperative 
stores in ordinary course, and he may under special circumstances extend 
special credit. This is seldom needed nor asked. Cooperative societies which 
have firmly established themselves are nearly always in a position to pay 
promptly. As their balance sheets and trading accounts are open to all the 
world, the independent merchant has more certain knowledge of their financial 
position than he has of that of most of his customers. 

The relations of a cooperative retail store with independent manufacturers 
and wholesale dealers are, then, the ordinary and usual trade relations. Such is 
also the relationship of the store with its members or customers. That its cus- 
tomers are at the same time its shareholders exercises no influence on the 
details of business. The customer receives a slip noting the amount of his pur- 
chase. These slips are his vouchers for the rebate or dividend declared at the 
end of each three months' trading. 

It is a cardinal principle of cooperation not to cut prices over the counter. 
Prices are the same as at independent local stores. The customer gets his 
advantage in prices at stated periods in the form of a dividend on the amount 
of his purchases. Such dividend may range from 5 to 20 per cent and averages 
from 12 to 15 per cent. 

The antagonism of the independent store is only the ordinary trade antago- 
nism. It has long been legally settled that a man may be at once a small part 
proprietor and a buyer and that the independent dealer has no just cause for 
complaint. As cooperators do not cut prices, their competition is not destruc- 
tive, and independent stores thrive even in the most active cooperative districts. 
An alert independent dealer, spurred by self-interest, will probably maintain a 
store with goods more effectively displayed. His assistants will probably be 
more courteous, more obliging, in their eagerness to effect sales. He is likely 
to have a more varied assortment from which to select goods, for the coop- 
erators are largely wage-paid men and do not need to stock expensive luxuries. 
In smaller communities the independent storekeeper may deliver purchases to 
homes, while the cooperative store may not. The quality of the independent 
dealer's goods may be superior all through. Miners have told me that they do 
not belong to their local cooperative societies because the goods are inferior. 
They account for this by saying that M the craze for dividends " induces cheap 
buying. 

British cooperation, working upward from the unit of the individual store, is 
the converse of capitalism, which centralizes at the top and maintains a rigid 
control over its branches. 

The cooperator by first establishing his retail distributive stores provides the 
market which he subsequently partially supplies by joining other cooperators in 
the establishment of manufacturing industries and of wholesale stores. The 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 239 

capitalist establishes his stores and secures a market by suiting the taste of the 
public. In effectiveness and economy of management there is no doubt that a 
corporation operating from a central point, with a chain of retail stores through- 
out the country, is superior. But the profits of a centralized, scientific manager 
go into the hands of shareholders in proportion to the amount of their invest- 
ment. The cooperators divide in proportion as they consume, and in so doing 
they save to themselves about one-eighth of the cost of the necessities of life. 

Moreover, the cooperative movement, however far it may have fallen short of 
the ethical aims of Robert Owen and of George Jacob Holyoake, has had other 
highly important and valuable results. In the thickly populated coal valleys of 
South Wales are 215,000 miners. It has enabled hundreds of these to own their 
own homes, has encouraged and supported education, and has ameliorated con- 
ditions. As a lending bank cooperation has carried members through times of 
necessity. As a savings bank it has provided a safe repository under local 
control, paying a fair interest. 

It has provided an occupation for leisure hours, which is at once a valuable 
civic training and encouragement to mental effort and an incentive to self- 
restraint by infusing responsibility. 

Lorin A. Lathrop, Consul. 

American Consulate, Cardiff, Wales, 

December 30, 1911. 



LEEDS, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

Cooperation and the Cost of Living. 
[File No. 165060. Instructions No. 66.] 

Owing to the number of cooperative societies in the district I have selected 
the most important and largest society which deals in general merchandise as 
the one showing the development of the movement in this region. The Leeds 
Industrial Cooperative Society (Ltd.) was organized in 1847. It now works 
under the provisions of the industrial and provident societies act, 1893. This 
society was the result of a call issued by seven mill workers in 1847. It had a 
membership in 1857 of 2,871; 1867, 3,954; 1877, 13,208; 1887, 24,596; 1897, 
37,540 ; 1907, 49,201, and on June 30, 1911, 47,013. 

The inception of the society was in a movement started to organize a flour 
society owing, as stated, to the " high price and bad quality of flour then on 
sale." The call was stated to be to raise a fund " for the purpose of renting a 
mill until the funds of the society shall enable them to erect a mill of their 
own * * * in order to supply them with flour and them only." Upon 
organization it was decided not to allow the members to sell or make goods for 
sale of the flour secured from the mill. The flour was to be sold " as near prime 
cost as possible." In 1852 the society quit selling at cost price and began to 
sell at a profit. It also adopted the plan of paying 5 per cent dividend on capi- 
tal invested, and allowed women to become members. For the first five years it 
could only sell to members, but the act of 1852 gave permission to sell to the 
outside public. In 1856 the sale of groceries and provisions was authorized. 
The flour had been sold by local tradesmen as agents who only sold the coopera- 
tive flour at the price it fixed and were paid a commission on sales. The open- 
ing of a grocery store that year in competition with their flour agents started 
a contention between the society and the private tradesmen which has con- 
tinued until the present. The grocery department was started with $3,500 
capital, but it failed then and was closed in 1857. In 1858 the plan of selling 
groceries, flour, and provisions by employees of the society was begun. In 
1859 an award of 2 shillings in the pound (49 cents in $4.87) was made to 
purchasers. 

At the same time a series of lectures were given and in 1872 an educational 
branch was started. Clothing for sale was added in 1859. Dealing in meats, 
boots and shoes, and dry goods had also been added. A commission to em- 
ployees for new members procured and a bonus to the storekeepers was also 
adopted but later abandoned. In 1867 nonmember purchasers were given half 
the dividend allowed to members. The proportion is larger now. Coal dealing 
was added that year but meat selling was discontinued for the time being. 
In 1869 there were 16 storekeepers, each of whom made purchasers for his 



240 COOPERATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 

store from any source, but it was then decided to trade generally with the 
wholesale society at Manchester. The dividend to purchasers was then based 
on the purchases in each separate department and not on general sales as now. 
In 1872 a building department was added. In 1873 the manufacture of boots 
and shoes, ready-made clothing, and furniture was added. An annual holiday 
was established in 1878 for all employees and a free excursion to some near-by 
place is one of its events. The society had begun making annual grants to 
certain charities, the sale of the Cooperative News was urged, and nontrading 
members were dropped from the list. In 1880 a newsroom and library were 
added. In 1884 a coal wharf was bought and boats for handling coal and 
grain procured. A woman's guild was started in 1889. In 1890 an abbatoir 
was opened. The woman's guild established a class of dressmaking, two for 
cookery, and one for clear starching. In 1892 a farm of 74 acres was pur- 
chased near the city. Several houses were erected or begun in 1893 on land 
acquired for the purpose. Thus the society kept on growing, extending its 
interests and investments from year to year until now it is engaged in or in- 
terested in almost all lines of distribution, as also in several lines of productive 
employment and educational development. 

The semiannual return for the period ending June 30, 1911, shows that after 
deducting the interest paid on shares and loan capital and for depreciation of 
fixed stock, land, and buildings, there was a net profit for the half year of 
$470,000. (I do not give the exact figures but the nearest in even dollars.) 
Part of this was paid as a bonus to members on purchases at the rate of 65 
cents on the pound ($4.87), and $3,525 was applied to educational purposes. 
Authority was given to purchase land on which to erect a laundry. There 
were 95 stores of the grocery department, all owned by the society but one. 
They received in cash during the half year $2,119,877, and showed a profit of 
$237,579 ; 76 meat shops, all owned but 3, showing cash received, $457,646, and 
profits $43,876; 25 dry goods (called here drapery) stores, all owned, cash 
received $284,550, profits $28,837 ; 19 boot and shoe stores, all owned but one. 
cash received $110,554, profits $11,758; 6 ready-made clothing branches. 4 
owned, 2 rented, cash received $54,203, profits $5,845; 17 coal depots, sales 
$352,404, profits $61,630; 7 fish and green grocery shops, all owned but one, 
cash received $25,064, profits $2,053. 

Every store and branch in the above list showed a profit. There are over 
3,000 fewer members than at the same time in 1908. 

In the productive trade departments a loss was incurred in brush-making of 
$177, and cabinet making of $959, while a profit was made in milling of 
$41,549; baking, $4,230; tailoring, $4,191; boot and shoe making, $3,011; tin- 
ning, $88 ; and wheelwright of $58. 

The total wages paid for the six months in the productive departments were 
$55,712, and in the distributive department $170,176. The total expenses, ex- 
cluding interest on capital and fixed charges, were: Productive department, 
$97,378; distributive department, $300,966. 

The revenue derived from all investments in other cooperative societies and 
other concerns was $5,880. 

The society has lost considerable money from time to time by investing in 
dubious enterprises, among them one in New Orleans and many English 
concerns. 

ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION. 

The objects of the society and its organization are stated in the rules. The 
object of the society is there stated, " to carry on the trades of general 
dealers, manufacturers, corn millers, bakers, butchers, farmers, and builders, 
and the buying and selling of land." It has "full powers to do all things 
necessary or expedient for the accomplishment of all objects specified in its 
rules, including the power to purchase, hold, sell, mortgage, rent, lease, or 
sublease lands of any tenure; and to erect, pull down, repair, alter, or other- 
wise deal with any buildings thereon." 

The name is conspicuously posted on the outside of all offices or places in 
which business is carried on, as well as being printed on all paper used by the 
organization in any way. 

Membership is subject to the approval of the directors, but generally any 
person over 16 years of age may receive a card of membership by acquiring 
two shares (par value of a share is $4.87), having first paid an entrance fee 
of Is. (24 cents), for which he receives a copy of the rules and a share 
book. He must buy at least £8 ($38.93) worth of goods a year. Any limited 



COOPEKATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 241 

liability company or society may become a member on written application, 
paying 5 s. ($1.21) and taking at least 20 shares. No person can hold 
more than 200 shares, and he must hold at least 5 shares to be entitled to all 
the rights of the society. Shares are not transferable, except a member may 
nominate to whom his shares are to go at his death. Interest is allowed on 
shares not to exceed 5 per cent per annum. Interest is not calculated for less 
than 1 share or for less than one calendar month. 

" The net proceeds of all business carried on by or on account of the society, 
at the end of each half year, after paying or providing for the expenses of 
management and interest upon loans and deposits, shall be applied in the 
following manner : 

" In payment of interest on the share capital of the society at such rate not 
exceeding 5 per cent per annum as any ordinary general or special meeting of 
the society may direct. 

" In the depreciation of fixed stock, plant, land, and buildings. 

"(a) Boats, wagons, horses, and carts at the rate of 15 per cent per annum. 

"(&) Fixtures and machinery, at the rate of 10 per cent per annum. 

"(c) Land and buildings, for business purposes, at the rate of 24 per cent 
per annum ; dwelling-house property at the rate of 11 per cent per annum. 

" The depreciation in each case to be calculated on the original value of such 
fixed stock, land, and buildings, and deducted from the balance remaining at 
the end of each half year. 

" In promoting instruction and culture by forming an educational fund, to 
which a sum not exceeding three-fourths per cent of the net profits, after the 
preceding deductions have been made, shall be carried. 

" In forming, by applying such portion of the net profits as the directors 
may determine, after providing for the aforementioned charges, a reserve fund, 
which shall be applicable, by a resolution of the ordinary business meetings 
of the society, on the recommendation of the directors — 

"(a) To the equalization of dividends. 

"(&) To meet any emergency affecting the interests of the society. 

"(c) To any other purpose which the general meetings may from time to 
time direct, whether such purpose be charitable, philanthropic, or public 
utility, or any other purpose, whether within the objects for which the society 
is formed or not. 

" The remainder of the profits shall be divided at one uniform rate per 
pound among the members of the society, in proportion to the amount of their 
purchases during the half year; or disposed of in such manner as may be 
decided by the half-yearly meetings of the society ; dividends not withdrawn 
on such division, shall be added to the member's share account." 

MANAGEMENT. 

The management is vested in a board of directors, consisting of a president 
and 12 directors. This society has the district covered by it divided into four 
areas, each of wMch elects 3 of the directors. Five directors make a 
quorum. They control all business of the society. They can not make any 
addition to the fixed stock or freehold property out of the funds exceeding 
£5,000 ($24,332.50) without the sanction of the members at a general or special 
meeting. They are elected by ballot at the semiannual meetings, except the 
president, who is elected annually. Directors are elected by areas as noted 
and for 18 months each. Auditors are elected by ballot and serve 18 months. 
Secretary is appointed by the directors. The president can not hold office more 
than three consecutive years. Directors can not hold office more than three 
consecutive terms (four years). 

To be eligible to the office of president, director, or auditor the member must 
be over 21 years old, must have purchased goods, and delivered checks to the 
society for at least £14 (68.13) each half year. No member is eligible to any 
of these offices who is a servant of or holds any other office or place of profit 
in the society or who or whose wife deals in any articles or commodities sold 
by the society or who holds less than 5 paid-up shares or has not been a 
member for over 12 months. No member is eligible for president or director 
who has a blood relative, from cousin to nearest relative, employed by the 
society. The president must have been a director for at least 12 months. 

Meetings are held quarterly. Eight scrutineers are appointed at the quar- 
terly meetings before the semiannual election meetings. 

34247°— H. Doc. 617, 62-2 16 



242 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

A local committee of three are selected for each branch store. They visit the 
store under their charge and make recommendations and report. They can not 
pledge the credit of the society or involve any expense not previously author- 
ized by the directors. 

Any member or person interested in the funds of the society may inspect his 
own account or the books with names of members at all reasonable hours. 

An annual return of receipts, expenditures, funds, and effects of the society, 
audited for the calendar year, is sent to the registrar provided by the act. 

An educational committee of seven directs the expenditure of that fund and 
the publication of society papers. 

PROPERTY. 

The directors may " purchase or mortgage any lands, together with the build- 
ings thereon, and may build or erect any houses, cottages, or other buildings, 
whether for the purpose of the society or not, and may -dispose of, sell, mort- 
gage, convey, or reconvey to members, of the society or other persons, any lands 
or buildings for the time being held by the society." They may "advance any 
moneys out of the society's funds to members of the society on the security of 
lands and buildings," subject to a fixed scale of repayment and to a limit of 
£1,000 ($4,866.50), based on 85 per cent of the value. Costs of appraisal, etc., 
are borne by the borrower. 

The land and building account shows a total expenditure of $2,948,653; and 
after deducting for sales and for depreciation as per rule, a present nominal 
value of $1,763,572. 

The house property account shows a total expenditure of $339,087, and, with 
same deductions, a present nominal value of $242,711. 

Wages were paid in these departments to the amount of $24,822 during the 
half year, and for the electrical department, $1,040. 

It will be seen by the above that there has been a constant expansion since 
the society was organized and started and that it has a large amount of busi- 
ness and expends large sums in the way of interest to shareholders, salaries 
and wages to employees, and in further enlarging its business capacity and 
adding to the undertakings of all kinds. 

DELIVERY. 

The supplies are delivered to the customers by means of horses and wagons 
and by motor trucks. The grain, coal, etc., is received by means of their own 
boats on the canal and by rail. 

SAVINO TO MEMBERS. 

It has not been the policy of this society to sell at cost for several years. 
It now sells at a profit, and prices generally are the same as in private stores, 
some higher and some lower. The only advantage to the customer is in the 
way of a cash bonus on the amount of his purchases, payable semiannually, 
depending upon the business done during the half year. For the last half year 
this bonus amounted to 65 cents on the pound ($4.87), which is possibly higher 
than his saving would be if he dealt at a private store. Metallic checks are 
issued to each purchaser representing the face of the purchase. If the pur- 
chaser is or is not a member of the society he can return these checks at any 
time for redemption, and heretofore he would receive 42 cents on the pound, but 
since last report 53 cents. The member gets the higher rate by turning in his 
checks at the proper time. Members also get a 5 per cent dividend on their 
shares. 

There are 44 other cooperative societies of a nature similar to Leeds in this 
consular district with a combined membership of 103,731. They have a share 
capital aggregating $6,660,268, and reserve fund of $337,555. The stock in 
trade at end of last calendar year was $1,358,576. The value of land, buildings, 
machinery, and fixed stock was $2,412,918. The investments included house 
properties $1,355,515, and all other investments $2,940,203. These were em- 
ployed in the distributive branch of the various societies, a total of 1,883 
persons with an annual wage of $529,524, and in the productive branches 772 
persons with annual wages, $202,456. Sales during the year aggregated 
$13,281,087, showing a net profit of $2,048,544. The average dividend was 65 
cents in the pound ($4.87). 



COOPEBATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 243 

As a general proposition the sales were for cash, although some societies 
extended credit. Much of the credit extended was on bailment contracts 
(called here hire-purchase agreements). 

A few of the societies allow a commission to their storekeepers and clerks 
on sales made, and a bonus on new members brought into the society. Some 
have a large membership and some are small. Some are engaged only in 
distributive trade, others manufacture certain articles as well. 

There is considerable antagonism by the private tradesmen against the 
cooperative societies, chiefly grounded on the allegation that these societies 
have rights, benefits, and exemptions not accorded to the private dealers. One 
instance may be cited that of a piano agent who got a good order from the 
cooperative on one trip thereafter the local private dealers would not handle 
his product nor give him any consideration whatever. This antagonism has 
existed from the beginning, part of it may have been brought about "by allega- 
tions made by organizers, and part, here at least, by the cooperative after 
procuring the services of local tradesmen as agents for its flour afterwards 
opened stores in direct competition with the same dealers and later withdrew 
the agencies. The one thing which gives them their standing is the bonus on 
purchases. This plan has been adopted by some private dealers under the 
title of thrift stores which advertise a bonus of 3 shillings (73 cents) in the 
pound ($4.87). Such dealers do not issue shares and pay a dividend on them 
and are not cooperative in ownership. The cooperative stores buy from the 
cooperative wholesales societies and hold stock in them. They do not buy from 
the individual wholesaler or through jobbers if it can be avoided. Everything 
is worked through cooperative circles and with the variety of producing con- 
cerns which make about everything used in the distributive societies there is 
but little trading outside themselves. 

farmers' unions. 

There is a farmers' union in each agricultural county. The Yorkshire Union 
has five branches, three in this consular district. It is chiefly educational, of 
the order of the grange in the United States. Any farmer may become a mem- 
ber by attending the meeting and paying a halfpenny (1 cent) per acre on his 
tenancy. They do not do any joint buying or selling. Legal proceedings affecting 
them are carried on at the expense of the society. Analysis of products or of 
the soil are paid for by the union. They get a special insurance rate. The 
executive committee meets monthly. 

DAIRY SOCIETIES. 

A report on the Wensleydale Cooperative Dairy Society was made by me in 
January, 1911, and published in the Daily Consular and Trade Reports, Feb- 
ruary 13, 1911, in No. 36, page 582, and there is no data now available to add 
to that report as published. 

The Nidderdale Dairy Society, established about eight years, is composed of 
19 farmers living within easy reach of Harrogate. The capital of the society 
is represented by 278 shares, at £1 ($4.87) each, with one-half, or $676, paid in. 
Its total sales on year amounted to $400,066, and the net profit was $1,411. The 
average price paid for milk is 18 cents a gallon. It has a milk depot and shop 
at Harrogate. The society got started financially by allowing the accounts for 
milk supplies to be in arrears for two months. One man with a horse and 
wagon brings the product of three or four farms to the central depot. It is 
equipped with apparatus for separating the cream and for making butter and 
cream cheese, which are sold at its shop. 

The whey and by-product is returned to the farmers for use as pig feed, etc. 

There are about five similar societies to the above in all Yorkshire ; no others 
in this district. There are other societies or organizations to control the selling 
price of milk 

PROFIT-SHARING MANUFACTURERS. 

A species of cooperation in manufacturing as applied by a firm at Batley is 
described in a report from this consulate published March 30, 1911, in the Daily 
Consular and Trade Reports, No. 74, at page 1228. 

Investigation of some other societies which by their name may seem to be 
cooperative societies discloses that they are limited concerns using that name. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Benjamin F. Chase, Consul. 

Leeds. England, November 24, 1911. 



244 COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

COOPERATION AND COST OF LIVING. 

The Plymouth Mutual Cooperative and Industrial Society (Ltd.) was founded 
at Christinastide in the year 1S59. The statement embodied in the latest bal- 
ance sheet of the society which accompanies this report shows the growth, 
share capital, loan capital, membership, reserve fund, dividend fund, repairs 
fund, insurance fund, together with other liabilities, assets, sales profits, grants, 
donations, and other information for each of the 51 years of the society's exist- 
ence. This balance sheet and the volume forwarded with it gives every detail 
of the inception, history, and extent of the movement in this district from 
1850 up to the present. In fact, every point raised in department's instruction 
on the subject is fully gone into and developed in the history of cooperation, 
an official publication issued by the Plymouth Congress of 1910. This book 
accmpanies this report and any further particulars from this office in addition 
to the contents of the balance sheet and this work would be superfluous. 

Jos. G. Stephens, Consul. 
American Consulate, 

Plymouth, England, 

December 13, 1911. 



BRISTOL, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

[Inclosure to Bristol Dispatch, dated December 16, 1911.] 
COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 

I have the honor to report that the Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.), 
with headquarters at Manchester, was enrolled on August 11, 1863, under the 
provisions of the industrial and provident acts 25, 26. (Vict. Cap. 87, sec. 15, 
1862.) The Bristol depot was commenced September 29, 1884. This depot sup- 
plies all the retail cooperative societies in the west of England and has a sub- 
depot at Cardiff for Wales. The turnover of the Bristol depot for the year 1910 
was £2,500,000 ($12,155,000). In all there are 400 employees, including those 
at the Avonmouth flour and provender mills and the Brislington butter factory. 

The wholesale society has its buyers in all parts of the world from which 
their goods are imported and purchases direct from the factories there, thus 
cutting out brokers and middlemen. Considerable economies are effected by 
the fact that all transactions, both in buying and selling, are strictly cash. 
Bad debts are practically unknown, and the society has the further advantage 
of doing nine-tenths of its business through the post instead of the customary 
costly method of employing many travelers. On occasions such as the dried- 
fruit season, when a cargo is contracted for, the buyers of all the retail societies 
are summoned to the Bristol depot (as many as 276 being present in one day) ; 
then the samples are exposed and the sales made to large and small purchasers 
on exactly the same terms. On arrival the cargo is then distributed direct 
from the docks to the retail buyers, thus avoiding all brokerage, warehouse 
charges, etc. The retail societies are thus enabled to sell at the same prices 
as the independent retailers with a profit, and at the end of each quarter or 
half-year the members receive a dividend on their purchases of from Is. 
($0.24) to 2s. 6d. ($0.61) in the pound, dependent upon the locality. This 
dividend, which really represents the degree to which the cost of the common 
necessities of life are reduced to the consumers, is dependent upon the earn- 
ings of the society, as the interest on the capital shares at 5 per cent must 
first be deducted from the profits before these dividends are declared. All of 
the retail cooperative societies are federated with the wholesale society. The 
cooperative societies maintain a complacent attitude toward the independent, 
wholesalers and retailers, while these latter look upon the former as their most 
dangerous and successful competitors. With the Bristol depot of the Wholesale 
Cooperative Society there are federated 200 retail cooperative societies, whose 
membership aggregates roughly 198,000. 

I submit the following statistics, in pounds sterling (equivalent of the pound 
equals $4.8665), showing the position and progress of the cooperative movement 
from 1897 to 1907. The table refers to the United Kingdom, England and 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



245 



Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, and gives the comparison for the period of 10 
years, including the figures relating to profits devoted to education : 

COOPERATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM DURING 1897 AND 1907. 



Societies (making returns) . . 

Members 

Capital (share and loan) 

Sales 

Profits 

Profits devoted to education 



1897 



2,065 

1, 627, 135 

£28, 647, 084 

£64, 956, 049 

£6, 535, 861 

£50, 302 



1907 



2,846 

2,615,321 

£51,011,063 

£111,239,503 

£11,247,303 

£89, 848 



Increase. 



Per cent. 
38 
61 
78 
71 
72 
79 



COOPERATION IN ENGLAND AND WALES DURING 1897 AND 1907. 



Societies (making returns). . 

Members 

Capital (share and loan) 

Sales 

Profits 

Profits devoted to education 



1,573 

1,336,985 

£23, 223, 600 

£50, 693, 526 

£4, 989, 589 

£42, 791 



2,016 

2, 127, 774 

£39, 797, 511 

£85, 050, 249 

£8, 422, 277 

£75, 254 



28 
59 
71 
67 
69 
76 



COOPERATION IN SCOTLAND DURING 1897 AND 1907. 



Societies (making returns) . . 

Members 

Capital (share and loan) 

Sales , 

Profits , 

Profits devoted to education 



357 

276, 053 

£5,323,923 

£13, 669, 417 

£1,539,547 

£7, 508 



365 

410, 597 

£10, 724. 508 

£23,822.956 

£2, 787, 291 

£14, 264 



2 
49 
101 
74 
81 
90 



COOPERATION IN IRELAND DURING 1897 AND 1907. 



Societies (making returns) . . 

Members 

Capital (share and loan) 

Sales 

Profits 

Profits devoted to education 



135 


465 


14,097 


76, 950 


£99,561 


£489, 044 


£593, 106 


£2,366,298 


£6, 725 


£37. 735 


£3 


£330 



I append the following table, in pounds sterling, showing 46 years' progress 
of cooperative societies in the United Kingdom : 



Year. 


Sales. 


Year. 


Sales. 


1862 


£2,333,523 

2, 673, 778 

2,836,606 

3,373,847 

4, 462, 676 

6,001,153 

7,122,360 

7,353,363 

8,201,685 

9,463,771 

13, 012, 120 

15,639,714 

16, 374, 053 

18, 499, 901 

19,921,054 

21,390,447 

21,402,219 

20,382,772 

23,248,314 

24, 945, 063 

27, 541, 212 

29, 336, 028 

30, 424, 101 

31,305,910 

32, 730, 745 

34, 483, 771 


1888 


£37, 793, 903 
40 674 673 


1863 


1889 


1864 


1890 


43 731 669 


1865 


1891 


49,024,171 
51 060 854 


1866 


1892 


1867 


1893 


51.803,836 
52.110,800 
55, 100, 249 
59,951,635 
64 956 049 


1868 


1894 


1869 


1895 


1870 


1896 


1871 


1897 


1872 


1898 


68, 523, 686 
73, 533, 686 
81,020,428 
85.872,706 
89 772 923 


1873 


1899 


1874 


1900... 


1875 


1901... 


1876 


1902 


1877 


1903 


93, 384, 799 

96,263.328 

98,002,565 

109 408 120 


1878 


1904. 


1879 


1905. . 


1880 


1906. . 


1881 


1907. . 


111 9 39 503 


1882 


Total sales in the 46 years, 
1862 to 1907. 




1883 




1884 


1,840,690,052 


1885 


Total profits in the 46 vears, 1862 
to 1907 


1886 


175, 546, 479 


1887 









246 



COOPERATION AND THE COST OF LIVING. 



The following table, in pounds sterling, shows 45 years' progress of the 
Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.) : 



Year. 



1864 (30 weeks) 

1865 

1866 

1867 (65 weeks) 

1868 

1869 

1870 (53 weeks) 

1871 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 

1876 (53 weeks) 

1877 

1878 

1879 (50 weeks) 

1880 

1881 

1882 

1883 

1884 '(53 weeks) 

1885 

1886 

1887 

1888 



Sales. 



£51,857 

120, 754 

175,489 

331, 744 

412,240 

507,217 

677,734 

758,764 

1, 153, 132 

1,636,950 

1,964,829 

2,247,395 

2,697,366 

2,827,052 

2,705,625 

2,645,331 

3,330,681 

3,574,095 

4,038,238 

4,546,889 

4,675,371 

4,793,151 

5,223,179 

5,713.235 

6, 200, 074 



Year. 



1889 (53 weeks) 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 (53 weeks) 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1901 (53 weeks) 

1902 

1903 

1904 

1905 

1906 

1907 (53 weeks) 

1908... - 

Total sales in the 45 years, 

1864 to 1908 

Total profits in the 45 years, 1864 
to 1908 



Sales. 



£7,028,944 

7,423,073 

8,766,430 

9, 300, 904 

9,526,167 

9,443,938 

10,141,917 

11,115,056 

11,920,143 

12,574,748 

14,212,375 

16,043,889 

17,642,082 

18,397,559 

19,333,142 

19,809,196 

20,785,469 

22,510,035 

24,786,568 

24,902,842 



358, 687, 869 
5,614,614 



The following table, showing the comparison of prices in 1898, 1906, 1908, 
and 1910, has just been issued by the Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.) 
to demonstrate the increased cost of living: 

[Pence per pound.] 



Goods. 


1898 


1906 


1908 


1910 


Bacon and hams 


4.96 

11.35 

15.24 

1.39 

3.24 

1.23 

2 1.49 

« 16. 17 


6.64 

12.82 

16.55 

1.09 

4.89 

1.18 

1.83 

15.42 


6.15 

13.08 

16.68 

1.29 

4.99 

1.33 

1.86 

15.65 


8.19 


Butter 


12.87 


Cheese 


16.56 


Flour 


1.23 




6.83 




1.16 




2.03 


Tea 


15.45 







Prices given are wholesale and mostly at port, and are only for relative comparison. 

i Based on years ended June. 

2 Sugar duty imposed at 4s. 2d. (SI) in 1901; reduced from 4s. 2d. ($1) to Is. lOd. ($0.44) in 1908. 

8 Duty raised from 4d. ($0.08) to 6d. ($0.12) in 1900; reduced from 6d. ($0.12) to 3d. ($0.06) in 1906. 



Based on an average weekly family grocerv order, say, 
of— 

1 pound bacon 

2 pounds butter 

J pound cheese 

12 pounds flour 

\ pound lard 

1 pound meal 

4 pounds sugar 

£ pound tea 



Total of 21 1 pounds would cost. 



1898 



d. 

4.96 
22.70 
2.62 
16.68 
1.62 
1.23 
5.96 
8.08 



63.85 



1906 



d. 



6.64 
25.64 
3.27 
13.08 
2.44 
1.18 
7.32 
7.71 



67.28 



1908 



6.15 
26.16 
3.34 
15.48 
2.49 
1.33 
7.44 
7.82 



70.21 



1910 



8.19 
25.74 
3.28 
14.76 
3.41 
1.16 
8.12 
7.72 



72.38 



Increased cost for 1906 over 1898. 
Increased cost for 1908 over 1898. 
Increased cost for 1910 over 1898. 



Per cent. 

__ 5. 37 
__ 9. 95 
__ 13. 36 



COOPERATION" AND THE COST OF LIVING. 247 

On the basis of the average weekly family order above, £1 sterling would 

buy — 

Pounds. 

In 1898 80-81 

In 1906 76. 69 

In 1908 73. 49 

In 1910 71. 29 

Coal, 

Average house coal at pit-mouth prices (per ton) : s - <*• 

1898 9 lli 

1906 TO 9 

1908 13 3 

1910 13 3 

Increased cost for 1906 over 1898, 7.95 per cent; 190S and 1910 over 1S98, 
35.05 per cent. 

Homeb M. Byington, 

American Consul. 
Bristol, England, December 16, 1911. 



NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 
[Report of Consular Agent C. K. Eddowes, of Derby.] 

In accordance with instructions, I have made inquiries and find that there 
is really only one cooperative society in Derby and district, which was started 
about 40 years ago in a very small way. They had about two shops to begin 
with and have now a large central building, consisting of shops and warehouses, 
in which nearly every description of thing is sold, and they have also about 
20 to 25 branch shops in the town served from the central depot. The goods 
are originally purchased (through travelers) by the central depot and distrib- 
uted amongst the branch shops. In addition to these branch shops there are 
country shops served from the central depot. The delivery of goods is now 
effected by means of motor wagons. It is believed that the goods which are 
purchased by the members of the society are very similar to those sold by 
wholesale dealers to other dealers unconnected with this society. 

It is not considered that the customers of the society derive any decided 
advantage directly from dealing with the society, but in consequence of what 
is termed a " dividend " payable to the customers who are members of the 
society, they are induced to trade with it. 

There can be no doubt but that the society has flourished at the expense of 
numbers of small independent traders. The dividend given is believed to be 
about 60 cents in $4.86. 

The annexed particulars are taken from a local directory. 

Objects of the Derby Cooperative Provident Society (Ltd.), established 1850: 

(1) To supply pure unadulterated wholesome goods at fair market prices. 

(2) To provide suitable investments for small savings. 

(3) To divide the profits equally among the members according to purchases. 

(4) To improve the conditions of labor. 

(5) To promote the social, intellectual, and material advancement of its 
members. 

Result of trading during 1909. 

Receipts $2, 701, S03 

Dividend returned to members 338,173 

Devoted to charitable and educational purposes 6, 705 

Share capital at end of year 1,271,086 

Original cost of society's property 728,276 

Total depreciation 209,113 

Number of members at end of year, 23,542. 

Building loan department. 

Advances to members to purchase houses $1,362,620 

Repaid by members 997, 632 

Number of members to whom advances have been made, 1,022. 



248 COOPERATION AND THE COST OP LIVING. 

LEICESTER, ENGLAND, CONSULAR DISTRICT. 

eepokt of me. s. s. partridge, american consular agent at leicester, england, 

on cooperative associations. 

American Consular Agency, 
Leicester, England, November 30, 1911. 

There is only one class of cooperative associations coming within the purview 
of the inquiry of October 12, 1911, namely, the distributive class of society 
modeled upon the Rochdale system, of which there are over 100 representatives, 
with the exception of one or two small negligible productive societies. The 
Cooperative Wholesale Society (Ltd.) has a boot manufactory in this district, 
but the society is managed from its headquarters in Manchester, and will 
doubtless be fully dealt with by the consul at that city. All these distributive 
societies are managed upon similar lines and have a similar history. Many of 
them consist of one retail shop for the sale of grocery and provisions in a 
village. The largest and most important of such societies, which may be taken 
as typical, is the Leicester Cooperative Society (Ltd.), founded upon a small 
scale for the sale of grocery in 1860 and now (to the end of 1910) having a 
membership of 19,031 and a share capital of $1,133,440. This society has now 
32 retail (grocery) and 1 wholesale stores, 18 butcher's shops, 14 pork butcher's 
shops; also stores for drapery, millinery, dress and mantle goods, tailoring, 
boots and shoes, furniture, crockery, milk and farm products, laundry, restau- 
rants, and educational department, with library, news and reading rooms, 
singing, sewing, ambulance, and other classes. The value of the freehold prop- 
erty is about $525,000 and the stock in trade about $180,000. 

The chief object of this and other similar societies is to purchase goods 
wholesale in the cheapest markets and to sell the same retail at the ordinary 
market prices obtaining in the average middle-class trade. The working ex- 
penses amount to between 4£ and 5 per cent on the total turnover, which for 
the year 1910 in the society now under notice amounted to $2,168,275, upon 
which a net profit was made of $189,330, equal to a dividend of about 8£ cents 
on the dollar on members' purchases. The chief advantages enjoyed by the 
association in carrying on the retail trade are that no credit is given, sales 
being strictly on a cash basis; no goods are delivered for purchasers, each 
customer having to fetch his purchases, and there is no mutual competition 
between the different branches of the society. To qualify for membership it is 
necessary to pay 24 cents entrance fee and 6 cents for a copy of the Rules, and 
to contract to take and pay for three shares of $5 each in the organization, 
which carry interest at about 4£ per cent per annum. The interest may be 
allowed to accumulate toward the purchase of fresh shares, but no member may 
hold more than 200 shares under the parliamentary restriction placed upon the 
institutions. In the early stages of development there was considerable com- 
plaint from private traders of what was considered the unfair competition of 
cooperative societies, and some wholesalers declined to deal with them. This 
is said, however, to have entirely disappeared and cooperative societies purchase 
in the wholesale market in exactly the same way as others; but being able to 
buy in larger quantities and to pay cash, they undoubtedly have an advantage 
over smaller retail purchasers. Such societies do not appreciably reduce the 
cost of the common necessaries of life to the consumer ; indeed, on the contrary, 
their prices are quite equal to those of the average middle-class private trader. 
On the other hand, the dividend system and the abolition of credit undoubtedly 
promote thrift among the working classes. There is another side of the ques- 
tion, however, namely, that the small individual trader tends to be exterminated, 
particularly in villages and small urban areas, while the local cooperative 
society do a comparatively large and prosperous business. 






Note. — The Keport of the Forty-third Annual Cooperative Con- 
gress, the Cooperative Wholesale Societies (Ltd.) Annual for 1911, 
and the Report on Industrial and Agricultural Cooperative Societies 
of the United Kingdom, in bound volumes, accompany this document. 



o 



LEAp'12 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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